Honey and Blood
by VampireQueenAkasha
Summary: EDITED. Barricade is alone now on Earth and Mikaela seems to be the only human to offer him friendship, while the others shun him out. She teaches him that there are more things sweeter than blood. Mikaela X Barricade.
1. Prologue: Barricade

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"__The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes.__"_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"_Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, _Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday_

**Prologue-Barricade**

The chase ended quickly for me.

I don't think I could have survived if I had not have fallen off of that hominid highway. Frenzy was dreadfully injured and I have yet to see signs of him. All that I have heard was his S.O.S signal he sent long after his Spark signature seemingly faded. I nearly perished before I could reach him. I still may.

In fact, all I have left is this Primus-forsaken highway and the ever passing of human vehicles. I cannot move from this topographic point because of the damages I have suffered. It is a pity its come to this. Myself, lying back here, life's fluid leaking out of every core...

I suppose it's best not to make any abrupt moves, lest my position be picked up by the Autobots. It would be more horrid if I were to die by their hand. And yet I don't think others will come for me. Certainly not Starscream. He has his own agenda, of course. No Decepticon alive has ever risked himself for some other. It's strange that my existence should end here in such a non civilized place. Strange that I should perish here.

But Megatron has not called me. He has not sent for me. So maybe my purpose has ended with him. Maybe that is just how it was meant to be. Me, alone; my last days here to die. Not even Frenzy is here with me, as he always had been.

I never had much of a purpose anyway...

Still, it is an honor to die at Lord Megatron's wishes. Even though I cannot see myself dead on this planet, if it is what Lord Megatron wishes...then I will gladly give my life for him.

Gladly...

_(Highway, several miles from Mission City)_

_Barricade rode alongside Bonecrusher, engine roaring at full power. His sirens went off, making any attempt to clear the way to avoid any suspicion and __allow them more maneuvering room. __Of course, Bonecrusher chose a more violent gesture. The __Buffalo mine protected vehicle shoved passed smaller human vehicle drones and Bonecrusher utilized his "fork", shoving them aside like refuse. Each one flipped through the air, shattering metal and no doubt, small human frames. _

_"Devastator will cut them off at the city," Barricade replied, "Our mission is to slow them down until Lord Megatron arrives."_

_Bonecrusher watched as the two fleshlings inside Bumblebee glanced back at him. Their lips moved and they frantically spoke their rough, alien language, alerting the Autobot they sat inside. His audio receptors picked up the male fleshlings' words. The one known as ladiesman217. One that caused him to react and move forward. _

_"The human has recognized you, Barricade." Bonecrusher hissed, "Get out of sight!"_

_Barricade found this to be without any feasible point and yet, required to move forward. If Bonecrusher wanted to face them, that was his choice alone. Barricade, personally, did not want to be up against all of those Autobots himself. Still, it was best not to offer argument in such a situation, so he merely pulled over at the side of the freeway, out of the way and to observe the battle. He would not interfere unless needed. _

_"The outcome of this is quote obvious, either way..." he mused, to himself. _

_Bonecrusher rolled through the concrete freeway, bellowing a challenge at the Autobot Leader as he transformed into his hideous robot mode. Barricade, truthfully, did not think any less of the bigger mech's outward appearance. He considered Bonecrusher's "personal problems" irrelevant and without any necessary means to their mission. But Bonecrusher used his bitterness and loathing about it against the Autobots and that was a far better use than self-pity. _

_Barricade watched as Bonecrusher threw himself at Optimus Prime with a full-throated scream. Both mechs collapsed along the edge of the highway and toppled over, exchanging blows. Barricade rushed to observe the battle, and felt himself hit dead on by another vehicle. He grunted sharply, his frame nearly denting from such horrible impact. _

_Ironhide. The massive GMC Topkick saw it fit to intervene and make sure he did not get in the fight. _

_"Back of, Ironhide!" Barricade hissed, menacingly. His rough, baritone voice carried a mocking hint in his next words. "Go and take care of your comrades, they need their big blunder to save them!" _

_"You ain't gettin' near them, Barricade." Ironhide snapped back, "Come and take a walk with me!" _

_Ironhide's wheels shouldered roughly into his own, sending sparks in the air from the metal rubbing together. Barricade grunted sharply and struggled to veer out of the way, but in truth, he was no match for Ironhide's broader frame and was forced into a concrete pillar with a sickening cracking sound. The impact alone nearly knocked him out. _

_And all Barricade could recall before he offlined was he was flying through the air, alone. _

_As he always was. _

_Alone. _

O_  
_

_Note-_And here is the start of my next Barricade fic! Read and stay tuned for more! Sorry if it seems a little...emo.


	2. Prologue: Mikaela

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"__The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes.__"_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"_Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, _Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday_

**Prologue-Mikaela**

Sam's been gone for a while.

He's off in California to a Law college his parents made him go to. As for me? I'm stuck here in this town handling a really lame job because I couldn't get into a college. I have to admit, I was a little upset at first. But then again, Sam's got his future to think of.

My dad and I still go on hunts for cars like we used to, but he doesn't steal them this time. We fix up old ones on the side of the road for people and make money that way. We even talk about things we missed when I was eight years old. So, yeah, things are good.

I miss Sam and he still talks over the phone. The Autobots are around too, and even more I haven't seen before. They're coming from all parts of the galaxy. I just hope no more Decepticons show up to ruin things.

My dad and I want to spend a lot of time together. But I'm getting worried. He's been sick a lot lately. I work overtime to pay for medicine for him, but he only seems to get sicker. We can't afford to take him to the hospital, but I'm trying.

So the two of us are going out to the freeway to find scrap parts. I don't have my license, but my dad still lets me drive the tow truck.

He's great.

_(Freeway, several miles outside Tranquility)_

Mikaela dodged traffic and took the tow truck below the freeway, where she noticed parts scattered everywhere. She got out and smiled.

"Hey dad, there's parts all over the place!" she called, "They look brand new, too!"

Her father slowly staggered out of the car, grunting slightly in his steps. He was a short, slightly pudgy man with receding hairline and dark blue eyes. Ted Banes. He moved up to Mikaela and smiled, picking up a shining chrome part.

"Hey, good job, baby girl!" he told her. He looked up and gestured with one finger. "Hey, look! There's more parts! Get 'em and let's stick 'em in the truck!"

Mikaela nodded and began bending to pick up the chrome pieces. As she advanced further, she noticed the parts getting bigger and bigger, until a Cap and engine piston caught her attention. Mikaela frowned and picked them up. As she studied them, she began to get a little concerned. She couldn't quite shake the feeling, but something wasn't right.

Mikaela lifted her head and gasped in horror.

There he was. The black and white police robot. The very same one that had pursued Sam and herself and the one Bumblebee had beaten. He wasn't moving, though. At first, Mikaela's only reaction was to run away and get the others.

Ted started to walk over. "Mikaela, you find any more?" he asked. When he saw Barricade, his eyes grew wide and he stumbled back with horror. "What the hell?" Realization hit him and he pointed a finger, whispering. "It's one of them goddamn robots!"

Mikaela gestured with one finger to her lips. "Daddy, be quiet!" she whispered.

Barricade's quadruped optics brightened weakly. "No use whispering, girl, I know you're there..." he growled. He watched Mikaela jump in fright and smiled, as if he enjoyed the discomfort he caused. After all, that was what he did to others.

Mikaela took a step back instinctively, but steeled herself and advanced. "What happened to you out here?" she asked.

"None of your business." Barricade groused. His spiked digits were clutching at his shoulder. "Leave now before I crush you both."

Mikaela seemed a little less afraid and more irritated by the machine's attitude. She put one hand on her hip. "You really don't seem like you can crush anybody in your condition." she told him. She softened slightly. "I mean, how long have you been here?"

Barricade's jagged teeth clenched. "Too fragging long." he muttered. He glanced away from Mikaela. "Just save your pity, fleshling. I can handle myself on my own." He jerked his spiked fingers at her in warning. "Now get away from me!"

Mikaela shrugged and found that she was less terrified of him now than what she had been. "Alright then. Fine." she told him, "But sooner or later, the Autobots are going to find you." She put a hand on Ted's shoulder and helped him back toward the tow truck.

Barricade watched her walk away, his mouth parting slightly in shock; humans from what he understood had always been rather piteous to those in need. He sighed heavily through his intakes. Here was a chance to get out of here and it was walking away. If he had to have her help him, perhaps it could work.

"Fleshling, wait..."

The words halted Mikaela in her steps and she glanced back at him. "Yeah?"

Barricade managed to move his legs a little. "What...did you have in mind?" he asked.

Mikaela smiled and looked at Ted. "Daddy, is there a way we can keep him in the garage?" She watched hesitation cross her father's features and took him aside, possibly out of Barricade's hearing range. "Look, if we fix him up, maybe there's a chance he'll leave and not try to hurt anyone else."

Ted seemed reluctant, especially when Barricade glanced his way. "Mikaela, I don't know ... " he began, "This could be dangerous. From what you told me, this one ain't too friendly."

Mikaela nodded her head. "I know, he's not." she whispered, "He tried to kill Sam and me before. But I don't think he's capable of hurting anyone now."

Barricade's optics flickered back and forth; he was obviously worried that others would come, but he did not make this so obvious to the humans before him. He struggled a little and growled a metallic growl as Mikaela walked up to him.

"Can you...you know, change into your car form?" Mikaela asked him, "I mean, it would be easier for us to move you without others noticing."

Barricade wasn't too sure about that. He had been heavily damaged and wondered if transforming would only make it worse. But while a nuisance, the fleshling female had a point. If he was going to move from this spot, he had to be incognito to do so.

"I-I think so..." he growled.

Mikaela watched as Barricade dropped on all fours and shifted his form into the Saleen Mustang. A sharp grunt of pain followed and he winced inwardly. It had hurt to move his damaged joints, but luckily, he had accomplished his transformation without any painful complications. He recalled that happening to a fellow Decepticon who was caught mid-way in his change.

Mikaela gestured to her father and he immediately nodded, moving to the truck to take out a towing cable. Barricade revved his engines, displeased, and backed away as the human approached him with it. He did not like the idea at all.

"What is that?" he demanded.

"It'll help carry you to our place." Mikaela told him, smiling at his uneasiness. "Don't worry, no one's going to notice."

Barricade growled once more before moving forward a bit. Ted apprehensively moved up to him and started to place the iron hook beneath Barricade's hood. As soon as he did, Barricade revved his engines loudly, startling Ted enough to knock him flat on his ass.

"What the...?" Ted cried, looking up in shock.

"Sorry." Barricade murmured, a hint of amusement in his robotic voice.

Ted made a face and climbed to his feet. Mikaela helped him into the truck and they pulled out, carrying Barricade on the cable line. He jolted slightly as they connected onto the freeway and into traffic. Mikaela looked back to observe the robot as her father drove. A look of pity crossed her eyes, but only for a moment. As much as he had tried to do, Mikaela still couldn't help feeling a little bad for him.

Barricade began to wonder now what he had gotten himself into.

O

_Note_-And soon you will see what I have planned!


	3. This Strange Human World

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter One: This Strange Human World**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Ted pulled up into the filthy repair shop and into the garage. Outside the wooden building were piles upon piles of scrap parts. Some looked to be too rusted for any real use anymore. But Barricade took no notice as they pulled into the darkened garage. Once the truck stopped, he watched the two fleshlings climb out and shut the garage door quickly.

"Okay, now get him off of that chain and I'll take the truck out back." Mikaela said.

Ted nodded and rushed in between the truck and Barricade. He winced and unhooked the chain, gasping sharply. Mikaela rushed to his side and helped ease the hook out from Barricade's undercarriage. The Decepticon grunted slightly.

"Hm, these are rather shabby quarters, but I suppose it will have to do." he murmured.

Mikaela rolled her eyes at his unpleasant reply and felt that they were just pointless insults. "Well, if you'd prefer, you could find a spot out back."

Humorously enough, considering the fact that Mikaela was only joking, Barricade took her up on that suggestion and moved to the back, in the junkyard. Ted gasped frantically as he transformed and moved around, shuffling scrap in the process.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, please don't mess up the-Ahh, put that down!" Ted cried, as Barricade picked up a rather filthy Corvette.

With a 'hmph' sound, and a raised optic ridge, Barricade casually flicked the vehicle aside. "Why don't you just calm down, human." he sneered, "I will not do any more damage to your precious scrap parts that they already seem to be in."

Ted raised a finger up at him angrily, forgetting who he was yelling at. "You calm down! This is MY house and MY shop!"

Barricade leaned forward, speaking calmly and severely. "You're going lower your voice to me, human, or I'm going to _beat_ you to death in your own house." he threatened.

Ted lost all bravado and glanced over at Mikaela, who was walking over, long before she could catch that deadly threat. At Barricade's venomous glare, he kept silent.

"Okay, then; Mikaela, you go ahead and get him comfortable and I'll...get some coffee in me or something..." Ted mumbled, weary. He rubbed his forehead as he walked through the scrapyard, toward their rather shabby-looking home.

Mikaela watched him go and smiled. She turned her attention to Barricade and held up a case of tools. "Alright, let's get started, shall we?"

_Meanwhile_

Through town, sirens went off in all directions. A man in leather coat and cotton mask was running through alleyways, panting and carrying a sack full of money. He removed his mask and panted heavily, leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, a familiar, GMC Topkick was pulling into the alleyway, right after him! The man cried out, recognizing the vehicle and fled.

"I'm gonna get you!" the Topkick - Ironhide shouted.

The man raced out of the alleyway, only to come face-to-face with Ratchet in vehicle form. "Surrender now immediately." Ratchet ordered.

A scream escaped him and he tried to take off down the street. A red and white Corvette streaked after him. This was Sideswipe, a recent addition. He laughed. "Ahh, I've always loved travel anyway: the open road, the smell of the wind in my face, the flies clogging their way up my grill." he sighed.

"Keep him in your sights, Sideswipe." Optimus replied, through his COM-link.

Sideswipe chuckled and nodded. "Hey, hey, no worries there, boss." he said, "He's taking a wrong turn toward the beach."

"Then fall back," Optimus replied, "I'm within that area now."

The man panted heavily and raced along the beach, leaping over sunbathers and children. He cried out, hearing the loud blare of Optimus' horn. He glanced back and noticed the red and blue truck coming right for him at the side street. He tried to dart into a small cavern, but Optimus quickly transformed and reached out, snatching the screaming man up in one hand.

"Gotcha!" He glanced sternly down at the shaking human. "I am still learning the manner of your Earth ways, but I believe that taking currency without asking is against your laws."

The man swallowed in terror. Optimus carried him to several human police vehicles and the humans took him away. One of them, the police chief smiled up at him. "Hey, thanks for the apprehension." he said, "Couldn't have done it without you."

Optimus smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." he said. He glanced over, noticing Sideswipe and the others pulling up and transforming.

"Wow, what a chase!" Sideswipe cried, delighted. He glanced down at the police chief. "Hey, if you need help with any more bad guys, you know I'm your mech!"

Ironhide was the only one not entirely pleased with the catch. But only because he was what every militant became during a moment of peace: Bored. He grumbled lowly and glanced at Optimus as the police vehicles rode away.

"This has become a boring living, Prime," he grumbled, "I almost wish the Decepticons would come here so we can get back to what we should be doing."

Optimus glanced at him, appalled by that. "Ironhide! Don't wish something like that!" he exclaimed, "I have not forgotten that they are still out there; I will not wish their return on any terms. So please, try and find a common ground."

Ironhide grumbled under his breath, but said nothing more.

O

Mikaela was underneath Barricade on a set of wheels as he sat in vehicle mode. "So...where does it hurt?" she asked, traveling lower and lower. "Here?"

"No. Lower."

"How about here?"

"Lower. Lower. Lower, slag it! Lo-Oh!" Barricade rumbled, a little displeased. "Right there."

Mikaela noticed bright gold fluid dripping out of Barricade's rear. Some dripped onto her face and she grimaced slightly. "Oh. So gross..." she muttered, sickened.

"Well, I don't see another dabbing yours behind their audio receptors..." Barricade said, sarcastically.

Mikaela grasped a set of pliers and paused as Barricade switched his radio on. She raised a brow as the music started playing. It sounded a lot like Flyleaf. She wanted to laugh a little. This guy did not strike her as a musical type.

"Um, do you have to do that while I'm trying to fix you up?" Mikaela said, carefully.

At this, Barricade only turned the volume up louder. Mikaela sighed impatiently and slid out from under him. She really couldn't deal with his sarcasm right now. She climbed to her feet and walked over to the refrigerator. Barricade made a metallic popping sound. He turned the radio off then.

"So, what made you take up such an occupation, fleshling?" Barricade asked.

It wasn't like he even cared about her life, but he had to find a way to pass the time somehow. He had to avoid all contact until he was up and moving again. Mikaela simply stared back at him with a look of almost playfulness on her face.

"Well, if you want to be nice, you can start by calling me by my name." she told him.

"And what would that be?" Grating irritation in his voice.

"Mikaela. Mikaela Banes," the girl told him, opening a can of soda with a soft click and fizz sound. She took a quick drink and looked at the Cruiser curiously, sarcasm in her voice. "And since you were too busy trying to kill Sam and me, I didn't quite catch yours."

"It's Barricade."

Mikaela smiled faintly. "Hm. That's a pretty cool name." she said, taking another drink. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "So...for an alien species, why is it you have names in our English dictionary. I mean, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet..."

Barricade growled heavily. "You know it does not really con-" he began. He cut himself off and thought about that. "Hm. I don't really know." His wheels moved side to side a little. "Now why don't you stop with the questions and finish what you started?"

Mikaela put her soda can down and started to open up his hood. He rumbled with apparent embarrassment and she laughed. "Relax. You've seen one you've seen 'em all." she joked. She opened the hood and looked inside. His engine had been heavily smashed and seemed to be covered in rust. "Wow."

"Yes. It's quite a mess in there..." Barricade murmured sounding rather embarrassed, "Usually it would be Frenzy who would take care of those matters for me."

Mikaela picked up a canister of oil. "Was he that silver, chatty robot?"

"Yes."

Mikaela grasped a wrench and made an attempt to pull out a piece of metal wedged into the wiring. It was pretty deep and she grunted. "You know, to answer your question, I took up this job after my mom died." she replied, "See, my dad always wanted a boy. You know, one to take the place when he died." She winced. "He got me instead."

"Oh." Barricade replied, hissing slightly as he felt the sharp points of the unwanted material jabbing his delicate circuitry. "And did he get all that he wanted out of you?"

"Yeah." Mikaela replied. She grimaced. "Geez, this thing stinks."

Barricade growled impatiently, clearly insulted. "Well what do you expect, with a piece of foul, rotting metal lodged between my engine?" he snapped. He winced inwardly as she got it out and sighed. "Ahh, my appreciation, human; that's been stuck down there for some time."

Mikaela sighed. "Okay, I'm going to have to go into town and get some tools." she told him, "My dad's stuff won't be enough to fix you up."

Barricade watched as she gathered her coat. "Won't someone suspect you for leaving at such a peculiar time?" he said.

She smiled and shook her head. "Nah. Don't sweat it. My dad knows the owner of the hardware store downtown. It'll be good." she assured him. "I'll be back, okay?" She rushed out of the garage and outside before Barricade could stop her.

It wasn't like he was worried about her. If others saw her running around trying to get the things she needed for him, he feared that would draw too much attention to this place. He sighed heavily. If he was going to be stuck here for a while, maybe it would be best if he learned a few things from the human world. Maybe the information would be useful to him in the future.

After all, it wasn't like sitting around would bother him.

_Bobby's Hardware Shop_

Mikaela passed rows upon rows of tools, paint and nails. She took two big containers of black paint and smiled faintly, getting an idea. Maybe if she fixed him up the whole way, he wouldn't be out to go after Sam and herself, or anyone else. When she walked up to the register, the associate, Bobby smiled at her.

"So, what's all this for Mikaela?" he asked, "I'm bringin' in your daddy's shipment tomorrow."

She just chuckled and shook her head. "Can you just put this on my tab? I'll pay you back when I get my check tomorrow."

Bobby shrugged, but started to ring everything up. "Alright." he replied, "I'll hold you to it." He picked up one of the paint canisters and studied it for a moment. It was quality paint for a Mustang. He raised a brow at her. "Your daddy got a Mustang?"

Mikaela almost gasped. Ted had never really gotten any Mustang scrap in a long time. No one ever dumped cars as nice as that. Usually, they would sell them on the side of the street first. She just smiled pleasantly. "I...like the color." she tried.

Bobby shrugged once more and once he placed the total, he looked at her with a grin. "Well, you now owe me 210.57."

Mikaela made the proper payment-a properly written IOU-and took the tools, rushing out of the store. "Thanks!"

Bobby stood there for a moment, silent at first. "Yeah, you're welcome..." he muttered.

Mikaela rushed back to the truck and paused. Across the street was Trent and his buddies. She wanted to avoid them as much as possible. Trent was still sore about her dumping him and getting him stirred up would only make things worse. So she quickly climbed in and rode off before he could see her.

When she returned to the shop, Barricade was sitting silently, the low rumble of his engine the only sound in the garage.

"I got the stuff." she told him, "I'll have you fixed up in no time."

Barricade sighed heavily. "Well, keep quiet and move it along quickly, human." he replied, "I do not wish to be trapped in this filth."

Mikaela said nothing to argue with him. It was best she hurried up with it. Having him here too long would rouse suspicion. Still, in the time he was here, maybe it could be pleasant. She quickly resumed the work she was doing beneath his hood; replacing pistons and smaller pumps.

"Have you done stuff like that before?" Mikaela suddenly asked.

"Stuff like what?" Barricade sounded surprised by the out of the blue question.

"Like killing humans?" Mikaela's head was buried beneath his hood so her voice was slightly muffled.

Barricade was silent. "Yes. But not for a long time since that day that I was attacked on the freeway." he replied. "Killing your kind is only necessary if the situation deems it. After all, either I kill them, or they kill me. It's a matter of logic most of your species abides by. 'Kill or be killed'."

Mikaela didn't respond. She just stood there, head underneath his hood and thinking about the problems that could rise from her having him here. But it would not be so bad.

Would it?

O

_Note_-I had him listening to music as a sort of indication that all human things do not displease him. I remember seeing paint for Mustang types when my dad used to work in an auto shop.


	4. Listening to the Sirens

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Two: Listening to the Sirens**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

The morning was not entirely a great one for Barricade. Outside, there was a dog barking madly at the garage doors; the creature obviously sensed his presence there. He had read that lesser Earth beasts had much more acute senses than humans did.

The female fleshling was in her house, getting ready for her...human occupation. From what she told him, she hated it. In fact, she had told him a lot of things, things he really cared little about. Still, having her to talk to was better than no one at all. Usually, Frenzy would be the one to ease the silence with his constant chatter. But since he was gone now, he'd have to make due.

Mikaela came rushing down the steps of the back porch, dressed in uniform. She worked at a grocery store in town, a secondary job. Not very promising, either. But still, it made her look very attractive. Then again, anything would for Mikaela Banes.

Mikaela noticed the dog barking at the garage and rushed over, grabbing him by his collar. "Alright, come here Harvey," she scolded, "Get back to your yard." She dragged him across the street to another house and ushered him through the fence. An older man was just walking out and smiled.

"Thanks a lot, Mikaela," he muttered, "I really don't know how he gets out all the time."

Mikaela just laughed and petted the dog's head gently. "Well, good thing you got me to bring him back for you, then, huh?" she said, walking toward her father's rather rundown pickup. "I have to get to work. I'll see you later!"

"Okay, bye!" the man called, waving.

_Giant Food Store_

The store was flocking with cars and trucks. Mikaela could barely find a decent parking spot. But she did ... clear in the far end of the parking lot. With a grumble, she parked the truck and got out. As she walked up, she paused. Two of her co - workers were slouching against the wall, enjoying a smoke. Pudge and Stucky. They had uniforms in sloppy condition and seemed-above everything else-nerds. Nerds who were, in fact, twins. Above them, someone - as if she had to guess-had written "Eat Pussy" on the brick wall. One of the guys glanced up at it, and then to her, grinning.

"Oh, we totally do," he told her.

Mikaela put a hand on her hip and tried to maintain a stern expression toward this. But it was completely hopeless as a grin tugged harshly at the edges of her mouth and she couldn't help it. She broke out in laughter, doubling over slightly.

And it was just as she figured. The store was swamped with people trying to get their shopping done on the weekend. It was too much trying to get to her station and her log-in number. But as soon as she did, a male customer rushed up. She quickly rung all of his food up.

Mikaela quickly typed in a few keys on her cash register and smiled pleasantly at him. "Would you like to donate one dollar to the Orphans Relief Fund?"

"Sure." the man said, smiling at her and reaching for his wallet. His eyes never left hers, a strange look of lust in them. After all, she was easy on the eyes. Mikaela seemed to sense this and glared at him a little, gesturing to the produce cans.

"Hey! Keep your mind on these cans, asshole." she said, coldly, gesturing to the canned food on the conveyor belt.

The man frowned, offended. "Well! I may just keep my dollar, then!" he snapped, gathering his groceries and storming off.

Mikaela stood there, disgust and irritation on her face. She rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh and slammed the register door shut. The twins were standing behind her, giggling like idiots. The shorter one, Pudge, had a candy bar in his mouth.

"Ohh, you got owned!" he whispered.

_Meanwhile_

The dog from earlier that same morning had gotten out and was barking madly at the garage that housed Barricade. The dog eased his head slightly into the cracked doors and barked madly at the Mustang parked in the darkness.

Barricade was getting irritated. Not only was the barking loud and annoying, soon, this creature's master would come and that would be it. With a snarling sound, Barricade's headlight appendages shot out without warning, startling the dog.

The dog yelped in terror and fled out of the garage, right back into its yard and out of sight, yelping the entire time. Barricade simply relaxed on his shock pads, duly pleased with himself. He could not help but get joy out of frightening someone ever once in a while. Then, his thoughts went to the human girl. He began to wonder when she'd get back to continue her work. To ease the silence, he switched on his radio and began to search the INTERNET a bit. Maybe he could find somehow to treat his host with a little more kindness. After all, he would not have her emotions driving his firewalls into a frenzy.

It was late-about 11:00 PM-when Mikaela finally returned home. She opened the garage doors, carrying a bag full of small fish and chicken sandwiches. She noticed Barricade's lights on. What was he doing? She walked around him warily.

"Um, Barricade? What are you doing?" she asked.

The Mustang rumbled slightly. His headlights were cast upon a small field mouse in the corner, munching on some paper. "Studying the lesser creatures of this planet. What else am I to do in my condition?" he murmured, shutting his lights off the second Mikaela turned the garage light on.

"Well, don't worry. I'll hurry up as fast as I can..." she muttered. "But I-"

The sound of a horn blaring caught her attention and she walked outside. Bobby's delivery truck was pulling up and Mikaela gasped. She had forgotten all about him.

"Okay, I got your daddy's shipment in!" Bobby announced, "I just need him to sign for it and..." He trailed off as Mikaela snatched the clipboard and ushered him further away from the garage doors.

"Okay, thanks a lot, I got it covered!" she said entirely too quick for him to keep track. She did not want Bobby to see Barricade.

Ted was walking out of the house, up to them and frowned when he saw the situation. "Mikaela, what are you doing?" He laughed. "Let Bobby take the shipment in."

Mikaela nodded and pulled away, offering the clipboard to her father. "Sorry."

Bobby went to work pushing the big truck into the junk yard. Ted and Mikaela removed boxes of paint, tools, and other things necessary for vehicle repairs. Bobby stepped down from the truck and looked up, noticing the Mustang parked in the garage. He smiled and started walking over.

"Wow, so you got yourself a Mustang, huh?" he said, "That's a mighty fine vehicle!"

Mikaela and Ted watched Barricade warily in silence, hoping he wouldn't try anything to give himself away. Bobby smiled and touched Barricade's hood. "Wow, this is amazing!" he said, "I hope you guys finish it soon! I'll buy this car off ya'!"

"Not sure you can afford it..." Mikaela muttered, under her breath.

Bobby spun around and laughed, missing the jibe. "Well, I gotta run!" he said, "Take care now!" He turned, walked to his truck and pulled away. The two watched him go, and as soon as he was out of sight, Barricade spoke with a deep growl of irritation.

"If one more human puts their filthy hands on m ..." he growled.

O

After Ted had gone to sleep, Mikaela spent some time with Barricade in the yard. He had transformed into his robot mode and relaxed a bit.

"So, too much excitement, huh?" Mikaela said, laughing.

Barricade dimmed his optics slightly. "Yes. As long as those Autobots steer clear of here, I'll be fine. I would rather not spend my days being chased down for no reason." he murmured. His optics seemed to blink. "After all, there is no agenda for me. With Megatron dead and Starscream gone, I have nothing."

Mikaela smiled thoughtfully. "Well, why don't you join the Autobots?" she suggested, "I mean, if you talk to them, maybe-"

"It's not that simple!" Barricade snapped, "They would not listen!"

"Well, how do you know if you don't try?" Mikaela said, "I'm sure they'll listen if you tell them. Especially Optimus." The sound of her cellphone ringing startled them both. She took the phone from her pocket and stared down at the ID. "Oh shit, it's Sam."

Barricade stared at her, clueless. "Who?"

Mikaela forgot that he was not aware of Sam's real human name, but rather addressed him by his eBay screen name, Ladiesman217. She smiled. "You know, Ladiesman217?"

"Ah."

Mikaela turned and flipped the phone open, smiling. "Hi, Sam." There was a brief pause. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's good here. How about you?" She glanced up at Barricade and mouthed the word "paranoid". She watched, much to her amusement, a forced smile touch his features. "...Oh! Great. Glad to...uh...hear you doing so good in college." A brief pause and Mikaela tried to sound convincing. "Oh, I'm fine, really! Glad you're doing great. It's just been a rough day at work." Another pause. "Well, I have to get to sleep, I'll talk to you tomorrow...Okay? Okay. Bye."

Barricade tsked and shook his head. "I recall that boy's emotional problems." he murmured, "Always shaken against everything."

Mikaela raised a brow and sounded defensive. "Well, you did try to kill him." she pointed out.

"Hm, yes." Barricade agreed. "But perhaps it wasn't enough for the boy to initiate any means to decapitate my partner."

Mikaela flinched inwardly before managing a faint grin. "Oh, that...that was me actually." she stammered. She waited for him to get angry, explode, or even try and kill her. Instead, she watched a half-amused look cross his face.

"Hm. Frenzy could not stand up to a female, could he?" he murmured, "My. You certainly have more in you than I thought."

Mikaela rolled her eyes, a little insulted by the joke. "Wow, thanks..." she said.

There was a yawn from the girl and he sighed softly. "It's getting rather late." he said, "Humans require recharge much more often than our own kind." He rumbled softly as she smiled up at him and it made him a little uncomfortable. "What?"

"If I sleep in the house, will you promise you won't run off and get into trouble?" she asked.

Barricade snorted at the question. It made him seem like some sort of delinquent or some kind of criminal. Well, the criminal part, perhaps. But he certainly would not get himself into trouble, not now at least. The Autobots would possibly come about at any given time.

"I will remain here and out of sight for now." the Cruiser replied. "Tomorrow, I will wake you to finish the job."

Mikaela nodded. "I'll be up!" she said.

_The sooner I get him fixed up, the better..._

_Meanwhile_

Sam called Optimus Prime later that evening. Mikaela's voice and words just seemed to have bothered him. He sat at his desk, tapping it with one finger.

"Can you just check up on her, Optimus?" Sam asked, softly, "I'm just worried about her. Just make sure she's okay, please?"

Optimus stood silently on the other line. He could see Ted's shop at a far distance and nodded his head. He too had begun to worry about Mikaela. He had seen very little of her lately and she had hardly spoken to any of them in a while.

"I will, Sam, don't worry," he said, "I'm sure she's alright." As he disconnected the signal, he looked back at the other Autobots. "Let's head over to Mikaela's tomorrow morning..."

"Right!" they all replied.

O

_Note_-Barricade's in trou-ble...


	5. One Chance

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Three: One Chance**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

The sound of Barricade's angry roars awoke Mikaela from sleep. She grunted, startled and glanced up from her bed. "Barricade?" she gasped, jolting out of bed.

Ted was already coming around the corner of the living room, scowling. He grabbed a metallic pole. "Damn those kids!" he growled, "They never learn!" Mikaela darted ahead and rushed outside before Ted could stop her. "Mikaela, wait!"

Outside, Barricade had been backed into a pile of rubbish, his quadruped optics flaring and he had his teeth bared in a snarl. Ironhide had slowly started to advance on him, his two weapons drawn. Barricade hissed at him with defiance. There was no way he could win in a battle against the Weapon's Specialist. But there was also no way he'd die here.

"You know, I don't think it's possible that I've never met a Decepticon as dumb as you, Barricade," Ironhide growled, "Coming here to kill our human comrade in our territory. Not very smart of you."

Barricade scowled. "Not likely to again, Autobot." he hissed, raising his spiked digits. They morphed into spinning blades.

Mikaela rushed between them and raised two hands. "Hey, wait! STOP!" she shouted.

Ironhide glanced down at her as the others pulled up. "Stay back, Mikaela!" he ordered, "This Decepticon's not gonna kill you on my watch!"

Mikaela seemed to appreciate the protective nature of the Autobots, but if she didn't stop him, Barricade would be turned into metal mulch. "Ironhide," she argued, "Barricade's fine! He's not gonna kill me!"

Ironhide and the others halted their movements in shock, lowering their weapons. Barricade stared at Ironhide smugly, smirking.

"What?" Ironhide gasped.

"Mikaela, are you sure?" Ratchet added, equally stunned.

Optimus took a cautious step forward. He wasn't entirely sure how to approach this situation. True, if Barricade wanted to kill her, he would have done it before. Still, the reason he was there was the first form of concern to him.

"Mikaela, would you mind explaining yourself?" he said, "Because if there is no reason for his presence here, we have to apprehend him."

Mikaela glanced up at Barricade, who remained still and hard. She had to come up with something quick, otherwise Barricade would probably lose it and in all probability, start making things worse. She took a deep breath.

"Well, see, I found him on the street-Ironhide-" She glanced at the Weapon's Specialist, a look that said she knew he was responsible, "And since he had no real faction left and everyone left him, we were talking about having him become my guardian."

Ironhide scowled at the Cruiser. "Is that the way of it?" he asked.

Barricade glanced down at Mikaela. When she stared up at him, he read the pleading look, silently begging him not to say what was really going on and he nodded, going along with it for now.

"Yes, that's what's going on." he replied.

Ratchet managed a faint smile. "Oh! Well, this is wonderful news!" he said, "Good to hear there's someone to watch over Mikaela in our absence."

Ironhide took him aside and growled. "You don't believe this punk, do ya'?" he asked.

"No, I don't." Ratchet told them. "I just think we can keep an eye on him for now until we figure out if he's legit or not." He glanced at Optimus now. "What do you think, Prime?"

Optimus glanced down at Mikaela. "We may not trust Barricade, but you do, so that is reason for us to give him a chance," he replied, "So, Barricade may stay with you as your guardian, however," His blue optics seemed to flicker with warning, directed at the Cruiser. "If you hurt her in any way..."

"No need to worry, Prime." Barricade interrupted, "I will do no such harm to the human."

Optimus nodded his head. "One chance, Barricade." He held up a finger. "One chance."

O

Pudge and Stucky hung out along the side of Giant. Stucky grumbled slightly and glanced down. "Hey dude, what time does school get out?" he asked.

His friend was playing with a cellphone and paused, smiling widely. "I don't know. I never stayed to the end." he told him. He laughed and Stucky joined in with him.

"Oh! That's right, Mikaela ain't in college. It's her boy-toy who is." Stucky said. His face lit up and he grinned down at his brother with excitement in his voice. "Hey, let's go over and pull the 'Texas Massacre' on her!"

"Sweet!" Pudge murmured, giggling.

The twins darted off snickering with their new idea of greeting their friend, Mikaela.

Back at home, Mikaela was beating dents out of Barricade's door and grimaced. "Wow, Ironhide really did quite a number on you." she said. She inhaled sharply with a grunt. "That guy really needs to learn to chill out once in a while."

"Mikaela..."

The reluctant voice of the Cruiser halted her in her work and she glanced down at him. "Yeah?"

"Uh, I suppose I should thank you for...speaking up for me." Barricade murmured, silently, "Not that I enjoy a human fighting my battles, I guess I should be appreciated for you...discretion." It seemed as if saying what he said irritated him.

Mikaela faintly smiled, relaxing a bit in his presence now. "You're welcome." she said. The sound of a chainsaw revving outside startled her and she looked up. "What the hell?" When she got up and walked out, Barricade crept out silently behind her.

Pudge and Stucky were running through the junkyard, Pudge covered in fake blood and Stucky wielding a fake, revving chainsaw prop. He was also wearing an apron and Leatherface mask. Mikaela put her hands on her hips as they rushed up to her. They made overly dramatic screaming sounds and cries. The whole thing didn't faze her at all.

"Stucky, I told you a hundred times not to sneak into my dad's junkyard." she said. She glanced down at the fake, gushing wounds on Pudge's neck and scowled. "And take that hose out of your shirt, you're making a mess all over the place."

Pudge stared at his brother sheepishly. "She's busted us out, man..."

"Of course I did!" Mikaela snapped, "You pulled the 'Texas Massacre' joke on me last year on my birthday!" She did not see Barricade pulling up behind her. "Is there anything you two can be doing besides pulling stupid pranks on people?"

The two glanced at each other, and then back to her, shaking their heads. "No." Stucky replied.

Pudge spotted Barricade and grinned. "Oh dude, sweet ride, 'Kaela!" he hooted, rushing over to him. "Wow! Why don't you drive this thing instead of that wrecked truck you got?"

Stucky rushed over with him and Mikaela wavered at first, but sighed and scratched the back of her head wearily, knowing they would not stop even if she told them to.

"Man! Look at this thing!" Pudge exclaimed, "Stucky and I could nab some sweet hotties in this!"

Mikaela held up two fingers, smiling sarcastically. "Okay, first off, you two have never even once 'nabbed' any 'hotties' since your mother had to persuade and pay your cousins to take you out to your senior prom since she felt bad for you," she snapped, "And secondly, no one wants to drive a car with police symbols all over it. It's probably illegal anyway."

"Harsh, dude..." Stucky muttered, shaking his head.

Suddenly, Barricade's frame trembled and he growled. "Alright, that is enough." he said, irritated. He jerked forward and transformed into his robot form. Stucky and Pudge's jaws dropped in shock and Stucky's fake chainsaw fell from his hand.

"Dude, either I'm really high, or there's a big ass robot standing right there in front of us..." Pudge stammered, horror in his eyes.

Mikaela smiled painfully and put her arms around them. "Yeah, this is Barricade," she told them, "He's...well-a robot from another planet." She paused, watching their delightful gazes. "And since I can't rely on peace and quiet these days, I want you two to keep this a secret."

"Oh...dude, totally..." Stucky gaped, stunned.

Barricade raised his optic shutters slightly. "Who are these two, Mikaela?" he snapped, "Are they any threat? Shall I terminate them both?"

Mikaela laughed a little. "No, Barricade. They're okay." she said, to the two jaw-slack boys. "I work with them. They're both sci-fi dope fiends. Other than being dangerously stupid at times, they're perfectly harmless."

Pudge grinned widely up at Barricade. "You're a ro-bot." he said, in a monotone, hypnotized voice.

"Um, yes," Barricade murmured, irritated, "I do believe we clarified that earlier."

The two boys were giggling like a pair of excited children at a toy convention. They seemed so delighted with the idea to see a real, living robot standing right there, considering both loved robotics and yet knew nothing about them.

"Whoa...he's talking to us!" Stucky murmured, giggling. Pudge joined in.

Barricade rolled his optics, slowly dimming them with annoyance. Mikaela just smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. A part of her was glad to see him associating with others, even if it wasn't entirely the nicest manner possible.

"I have no sympathy for any of you despicable little maggots and not a shred more patience to pretend otherwise." he muttered, "I wash my servos of you both..." And with that, he transformed and drove into Mikaela's garage.

Mikaela stared at the two giggling goofs and sighed heavily.

Mikaela carefully dragged out the garbage outback. She sighed and could hear Ted's radio on in the house.

Just as Mikaela covered the trash can with the lid, she heard a car horn blaring behind her and spun around. Headlights nearly blinded her and for the moment, she wished it would continue because here was Trent coming up in his black car.

_Great..._

Trent parked the car aside and got out, smiling a grim smile as he walked up to her. "Hey, how's my little Bunny?" he crooned.

"Trent, what the hell are you doing here?" Mikaela snapped, taking a step back as he was close enough to touch her.

Barricade was going into recharge when he heard the other vehicle. His headlights flashed on and he immediately sensed human emotion flooding toward him. He sensed, anger, nervousness, and even a bare hint of self-loathing.

Barricade slowly and quite silently pulled out while Trent and Mikaela spoke, like a tiger ready to pounce on a warthog.

A persistent and very stupid warthog.

"Trent, I told you," Mikaela said, irritated, "We're through."

Trent tittered mockingly at that and moved closer to her. "I know. I heard you there. But since that little geek hero went and ditched you for college, I thought you'd need a shoulder to cry on, get me?" he sneered, moving a little closer.

"Trent, I mean it-" Mikaela warned. Finally, she raised the sharp heel of her foot and brought it down onto his. Trent howled in pain and doubled over, grasping at his foot. Finally, his face clenched in rage and he grabbed Mikaela by one arm, shoving her into the garage door.

It hurt a little and Mikaela refused to cry out.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Trent spat, furious.

Barricade could smell a rise in emotion coming from Mikaela. He heard her cry out. "Trent, stop it!" she shouted.

"Calm down, would ya'? Calm down." Trent growled. "Yeah, like Mr. Invincible gives a shit about you anyway. So hold still."

Suddenly, before Mikaela could even react, Trent was tossed from her with a terrified, almost feminine scream and hurtled across the concrete in a flurry of limbs. She heard Barricade's furious voice before she could even see him move on the man.

"YOU DARE!" Barricade thundered, enraged, "YOU DARE FORCE YOURSELF ON HER!"

Trent was whimpering in disbelief and pain. He rolled over onto his back and gazed up at the set of optics glowering down at him, not to mention the rows of sharp, frightening teeth. Trent could not believe what he saw standing before him.

"Wh...wh...wha..." he stammered.

Barricade grabbed him tightly like a can of Pepsi. It would be so easy to kill him. So easy. But with the Autobots granting him a chance to be left in peace, surely this human was not worth the loss of it. Still, no way he would let him get away with what he almost did to Mikaela.

"Alright, petulant brat, say you're sorry to the human." Barricade ordered.

Trent whimpered, nearly pissing his own pants and looked at Mikaela, voice shaking. "I'm sorry." he mumbled.

"I didn't hear it." Barricade said, harshly.

"I'm sorry!" Trent cried, a lot louder this time.

"_Mean it_!"

A sobbing sound emerged from the so-called buff football player. "I'm so sorry!"

Barricade glanced at Mikaela, who couldn't help her smile. "Is this enough punishment to satisfy you, Mikaela?" he asked her.

Mikaela could think of so many things to do to Trent, but she knew she was better than that and shook her head. "No. I think he's fine." she told him. "Trent, you won't tell anyone about this, right?" She said this in a sort of threatening tone, one that made Trent nod frantically.

Barricade chuckled and looked down at him. "She's forgiven you," he purred, in a menacing tone of voice. When Trent smiled, relieved, he continued. "But I have not."

Trent's smile dropped from his face with horror.

_Later_

Mikaela watched as Barricade rolled into the garage. She looked a little worried.

"Barricade, you didn't have to hurt him that badly." she said, "What if someone asks about it? What if the Autobots find him in that condition? Then you're going to get torn to pieces."

A small pause. "Well, I believe that boy will not speak a word of it. And, I have also reason to believe he will steer clear of you from now on as long as I stay with you." Barricade answered, "Now that the Autobots have granted me a chance, I can roam around freely without having to concern myself with them."

Mikaela seemed a little touched by the gesture.

"Do not get confused by such a gesture!" Barricade told her, as if he was caught and trying to get out of this situation. "I will simply not allow anyone else touch me but you. And to have a male force himself upon you would not only force your emotions into a dark void, but that will delay my repairs."

Mikaela rose, unable to resist the smile on her face. "Okay." she said, chuckling softly. "Look, I have to get to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

Barricade did not respond, but rather watched her leave. He could hear the television on inside the house. A little bored, he rode up to the house and transformed, peering into it. Ted was sitting on the couch, watching the screen and City of Angels. Dialogue between two characters:

_"I wait all day, just hoping for one more minute with you...and I don't even know you. What do you want to know? Why you wear the same clothes all the time. Why won't you give me your phone number? Are you married? No. Are you homeless? No. Are you a drummer? Why don't you ever touch me? I don't want to hurt you. You won't hurt me. Did you feel that? If I could make you understand...I understand. I'll see you around."_

Barricade tore himself from the house with a sigh and shifted back into vehicle form. He pulled into the garage and slipped into recharge.

O

_Note_-So everyone knows, Pudge and Stucky were actually slight inspirations of Jay and Silent Bob. Couldn't resist having two dope heads.


	6. Decepticon's Creed

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Four: Decepticon's Creed**

_Nevada Hillsides_

_Dig Site_

Several small comets were coming into Earth's atmosphere, on a specific point of landing. These were far more Decepticons coming in as requested by their new leader. And down to Earth, several workers were busy, digging in the dirt to place electrical wires down into it.

"Alright, get them down in there really deep!" their chief shouted, "We don't want them popping up on us a second time, eh?"

The workers settled each massive wire coil into the dirt and began to drill in large holding plates to hold the wires in place. Meanwhile, the comets streaked through the sky, passing overhead, and crashed into the woods. The chief glanced up in surprise.

"What the fuck?" he murmured, stunned. He looked down and noticed his crew had stopped working. "You guys get back to work, I'm going to check it out!"

"Need help, boss?" one of the workers called.

The chief was already in the woods before he could answer. He crept carefully, cautiously. The woods were quiet, only the sound of chirping birds surrounding the chief. His curiosity had obviously gotten the best of him the second he noticed a faint glow in the distance.

It was quiet for a second, and then, a metallic roar rose up from the woods, nearly deafening. The chief flinched slightly in surprise, but could not resist creeping further. Slowly, carefully, he reached into his large boot and produced a small hand pistol. He kept it on hand in case any gang members or thugs would try and bother them during work. His home had been subject to gang war as a child and he had been careful ever since.

Something seemed to move in the trees and the chief ducked behind a stump. He observed with shock as a near humanoid figure rose up from a smoking crater. It wasn't human, that was obvious. But it seemed to have been almost six to seven feet tall, very small.

"What the..." the chief began, surprised.

Suddenly, his radio on his belt filled with static. "Hey boss, you find anything?" The chief gasped and struggled to shut it off. The metallic shape spun around, red optics flashing at the sound and that was all it took for the chief to turn and run.

He ran as fast as he could, not certain he was being pursued, but too frightened to look. Finally, tired, he stopped and raised his gun anxiously. He glanced around with surprise at several hissing sound filling the air.

Suddenly, a metallic head peeked out from the bushes, snarling. It was similar to that of a Velociraptor, only it's body was metallic and dangerously jagged. The red optics of the creature flashed in the dark and the chief smiled with terror.

"Shit..."

With a roar, the Raptor came flashing out of the bushes and pounced on him. The gun in the chief's hands went off, but wildly, and the Raptor's claws slashed through the soft tissue of his belly. The chief screamed in agony as a head of teeth came down upon his, crushing his skull with a sickening snapping sound.

Shortly afterwards, the Raptor mech walked back over toward the crater, where a small pod lay. He typed in several keys onto a computer and the glow of it illuminated his jagged, reptilian face. An image of Starscream appeared on the computer.

"We have arrived, Lord Starscream..." the Raptor hissed, in an eerie voice. "What are your orders?"

Starscream's message was filled with static. "_Find...the-fzzzt-hu-mans...bri-i-i-ng th-em to me_." He paused for a moment. "_Ki-ll all who oppo-o-o-se you_."

The Raptor grinned broadly. "As you command...Lord Starscream..."

_Giant Food Store_

Mikaela and Stucky walked up toward the store, still talking about Barricade.

"Did you explain school to him?" Stucky asked her.

Mikaela shook her head, smiling at him. "How do you explain something like Earth school to something as highly intelligent like him?" she pointed out, not noticing Pudge rushing up toward them.

"Maybe he's not that smart. Maybe he's, like, a worker bee or something," Stucky said, now noticing his brother and looking over toward him, "I mean, maybe he's one of those huge robots who speaks big, but really doesn't know a thing."

Mikaela chuckled. "Like you?" she joked.

Stucky shrugged and sighed heavily at that. "Alright," he said, "But I just hope we don't wake up on Mars surrounded by millions of these squashy blob dudes, or something."

Pudge rushed up, panting heavily. "Sorry I'm late," he panted. He flashed a glare at Stucky. "My jerk off brother forgot to wake me up this morning!"

Stucky flashed him a toothy grin. "Yeah, I forgot to get your fat ass out of bed!" he said, laughing, "I forgot when I noticed the note on the refrigerator door and didn't bother to try and remember." He pushed several grocery carts aside.

"Ass." Pudge muttered.

Mikaela stared down at him in surprise, noticing a disgusting redness to Pudge's left eye. "Hey! What the hell happened to your eye?" she cried. She paused and leaned forward. "Is-Is that pink eye? You can't come to work if you have pink eye!"

Pudge stared at her and flashed a grin, shaking his head. "No, no pink eye for me, Mikaela." he told her, fitting his orange vest on. He paused, and then added in a dramatic tone. "I'm just really, really freaking high right now." He looked up, eyes dazed.

Mikaela rolled her eyes and walked toward the employee staff room. Then, she halted at the sight of Trent. He was in one of the grocery lines with his mother. She had gotten a good look at the damage Barricade had inflicted. A massive bruise covered Trent's upper lip and jawline. A large bandage covered his left eye and he was wearing a neck brace. His left arm was covered in bandages and Mikaela was sure he had stitches of some kind along his other wrist.

She smiled and got an idea, walking over to the two. "Hey, it's good to see you." Mikaela told the football player, smiling slyly. "Sorry about your hospital issues, Trent. Your shoulder okay? You need be careful not to step in front of any more buses."

Trent watched her walk away, shock on his face. He whimpered in anguish and glanced at his mother, who shook her head with pity at her son's problem.

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Barricade decided he was quite bored. He revved his engine and pulled out of the garage. Ted watched him go from the window, shaking his head. A part of him felt relief that the eerie Mustang was gone. Now he could have a moment's peace.

The Cruiser rode down the streets of Tranquility, setting up his holoform so as not to attract attention. He felt a little out of place without his comrade Frenzy with him. The little mech's speedy chattering was always a means to end the silence.

Oh well, he had to find a way to ease his own negativity.

Barricade's holoform observed people in passing. Several humans seemed to be walking in and out of marked shopping locations, laughing and having a good time with one another. Barricade's holoform barely registered any emotion at all.

He wondered, though, when Mikaela was getting home.

Suddenly, a little child darted out in the street, chasing her puppy. "Butch, come back here!" she cried.

Barricade's holoform barely reacted to the sight, save for the slight widening of reddish human eyes. He skidded to a halt, inches before he nearly crushed the child. The kid glanced up at him and smiled, waving like nothing had happened.

"Hi, cop man!" she said, "Got my puppy!" She darted off, humming happily.

Barricade watched the child rush into the arms of her frantic mother and narrowed his holoform gaze with irritation. The mother glanced up at him and waved, relieved. "Oh, thank you so much, officer!" she called, "Thank you!"

The child was carried away and waved after Barricade, grinning. "Bye-bye, cop man!" she sang.

Barricade relaxed slightly and growled inwardly. How the Autobots dealt with it, he had no idea...

_Meanwhile_

The Raptor Transformer led several other "Beast Shifter" Transformers through the woods in various Beast Modes. The Beast Shifters were simply smaller reconnaissance Decepticons designed to adapt to animal-based forms. Their small shapes made it hard for them to be picked up on radar.

The Raptor was known as Shredder, a maniacal Beast Shifter with only one thing on his mind: Murder and destruction. He knew nothing else but these things. Anyone attempting to talk him out of it would simply end up dead.

There was a Wolf Beast Shifter at his side, rumbling deeply. He was known as Wallow, a silent and cold-blooded monster. He rarely spoke and reacted simply with his claws and guns. Many times, even Shredder would usually back down.

The third and final Shifter was a metallic vulture - like beast called Lacterator, by many. His feet were horrible, sharp blades of death and his wings metal feathers of similar fashion. He was a winged nightmare of terror and loved fear, just like his friend Dirge.

"We find the humans..." Shredder hissed, "Wallow, get a track on the humans using their DNA fragments."

Wallow glanced at him and silently nodded. His reddish optics flared and released a small beam of light in the direction of Tranquility. But he blinked and shut the light off, glancing at the others with a slight confused look on his face.

"One is one way, the other is further..." he spoke, his voice harsh and grating.

Shredder smiled and nodded. "Alright, then we capture the one who lies closest..." he murmured, "We will capture the human creature called...Mi-kaela..."

Barricade pulled up into the grocery store. He figured picking up Mikaela would seem like a decent Samaritan act with the Autobots. After all, being dubbed as her 'guardian', he had to play it out as realistically as possible without drawing their suspicions.

Mikaela was coming out of the store and talking with Stucky and Pudge. When she saw the police vehicle parked there, her jaw nearly dropped. "Oh no..." She rushed over to Barricade's side and his window rolled down. "Um, can I ask what the hell you're doing here?"

Barricade's holoform glanced at her, ignoring the giggles of Mikaela's working comrades outside. "I came to pick you up. Is that a problem?"

Mikaela glanced around and noticed that Ironhide was parked further away, his own holoform watching them harshly. His holoform was much different than Barricade's. Bigger and more muscled. She suddenly got the idea and faintly smiled, despite the uneasiness behind it.

"Well, thanks, but, you don't have to try so hard to impress the others." she whispered to him.

Barricade's gaze flashed with irritation. "You mistaken my generosity for some means of inflicting peer pressure," he murmured, "I am only offering my services because it better suits me."

Mikaela was silent for a moment. She was worried about that for a brief moment. "You know, you can chill out a bit," she told him, "No one's gonna laugh or anything."

Stucky and Pudge were standing behind her, grinning broadly. Barricade sighed heavily through his intakes. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"Can we have a ride home, too?" Stucky begged, giggling. "We're gonna stop at Mikaela's place first!"

Barricade's gaze flickered and he rolled his eyes with a mumble of disgust. He did not answer, but his rear door opened nonetheless. The two boys giggled and ducked into the backseat while Mikaela took a spot in the passenger side.

"Oh, my word!" Pudge gasped, amazed.

Barricade pulled out of the parking lot and glanced back at them. "Put your seat belts on." he ordered, the seat belts in the seat slapping against the three, giving them no chance to do so themselves.

Mikaela glanced at Barricade with a smile. "Thanks for this, by the way. I mean, you didn't have to."

"No, I didn't."

Mikaela glanced at him, giggling faintly. "You can turn of the tough guy act." she joked, playfully, "I know you wanna be a nice guy."

The holoform seemed to glare at her. "How do you know what I want?" he groused.

Mikaela shrugged and just smiled, saying nothing more. She didn't have to really say she enjoyed having Barricade around. After all, with Sam and Bumblebee gone, she was feeling lonely in the past few months. Rough company was better than no company at all.

O

_Note_-I have FINALLY figured out a good plot. I had too many going in several different directions, but it finally came to me.


	7. Gifts Ungiven

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Five: Gifts Ungiven**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Ted awoke early that morning, whistling a happy tune to himself. He glanced over, noticing Barricade parked outside. For the moment, he felt only fear and uneasiness. Barricade was not the friendliest thing he had ever crossed paths with. He wasn't certain, but even thought Barricade seemed to make his daughter happy, he felt he could not argue. In the meantime, he'd have to just deal with it for now.

Barricade slipped online the second he heard Ted coming down the steps. He grunted, tires crunching the gravel as he rolled out of the garage slightly. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Ted flinched slightly and stared at the vehicle with a hint of defiance. "I'm...going out to the store, is that a problem?" he said, voice trembling in fear.

"It is," Barricade replied, pulling up closer to him, "After all, according to your standard human time, it is far too early for a normal human to be awake at this day." He paused for a brief moment and made a sound in his vocal processors. "So why are you?"

Ted heaved a sigh and looked at the Mustang. "Okay, Mikaela's birthday is just seven hours away. I'm going out to get her some things. I have to do it before she wakes up." He added, shyly. "I've been so busy, I almost forgot. Until her uncle called and had to remind me."

Barricade was silent for a moment, engine purring to life. "I see." he replied, "Well, if it is speed that you so eagerly require, I may be of some use." His passenger door opened. "Get in."

Ted was nervous now and Barricade could smell it like a thick fog in the air. He really would rather not get into the Mustang. "Oh! Oh, I can't because I...um..." he stammered.

"I said, get in." Barricade commanded.

Ted heaved a defeated sigh. "Alright." he said, in a protesting voice. He anxiously slid into the cool, leather seats of Barricade's interior and the door slammed shut. He jumped with a careful yelp and Barricade set up his holoform, only to draw another yelp from the man.

"Theodore Banes, there is no reason to behave in such a way," Barricade told him, "I promised your daughter she was to be protected, and the same applies for her family members. So calm down."

Ted nodded his head and studied the holoform with brief fascination. He reached out and touched it, but found his hand passing through it directly. He grinned and did it again. The holoform separated slightly into particles and glared at him.

"Don't do that." Barricade snapped.

Ted quickly sat back in his seat, gazing at the holoform, embarrassed. "Sorry."

Barricade's holoform resumed a bored expression as Barricade pulled out of the junkyard, into the alleyway and out into the darkened streets. There were few vehicles around this time of day, which made it easier for him to simply slip through lanes without concern for the humans around. Ted held up a slip of paper and smiled with pride. He'd get everything she wanted on her list.

"So, where are we to go first?" Barricade asked.

"You have the town map in your memory?" Ted said, amazed.

"Indeed."

Ted was impressed and it clearly showed on his face. These robots still continued to impress him. "Um, well, the first place I wanna go is the mall." he told him, pointing down a smaller road.

Barricade did not reply. Instead, he turned down the street that would take them to the mall.

O

The mall was quiet, with very few human vehicles in the parking lot. Barricade took the time to observe his surroundings while he waited for Ted's return. He spotted several human gang members hanging out at the corner. Obviously, from his reading, it was quite true. Humans seeking trouble spent it at ungodly hours such as these.

Ted walked out of the mall and Barricade's gaze flashed slightly as the gang members circled Ted. There was no time for this. If something happened to Mikaela's father, he would possibly be blamed for it by the Autobots. They'd be likely to believe a human before a Decepticon.

Ted tried to get around the gang members, but they just laughed and pushed him around.

"Come on, old man!" one of them sneered, "Hand it over."

The sound of Barricade's flickering sirens drew their attention. One of them-Barricade assumed him to be the leader-looked up with a gasp of horror, but it was too late. Barricade's front end slammed into the leader of the gang group, sending his body tumbling into the wall with a cry of pain.

Ted cried out and noticed Barricade about to charge again, his tires squealing. Finally, he stepped up and waved the guys off. "Get outta here, now!" he cried.

The three didn't hesitate and ran off, carrying their leader with them. Ted glanced down at Barricade. "You were going to kill that guy!" he shouted.

"Yes, before he would kill you!" Barricade countered, "I told Mikaela that I'd protect her from any threat. And you, if necessary."

Ted was silent for a moment. "But that still gave you no right to kill someone!" he cried, suddenly.

"It gives me every right!" Barricade hissed.

Ted sighed heavily and glanced down at the massive grill on Barricade's front. Hardly a dent at all. He managed a smile and tried to get rid of the uneasiness and giggled. "Well, you are pretty strong," he pointed out, "I guess Mikaela is in safe hands after all."

"Good. Glad we could clear that up." Barricade muttered, "Now let's go before those fools alert others."

Ted managed a smile before he slid into the passenger seat.

The entire morning was spent taking trips to get gifts for Mikaela. Barricade remained puzzled by the gesture. So many times Ted had bought gifts, he spent a few seconds boasting about how happy he was. Barricade glanced at Ted, who crossed off every thing on the list. "Why do you humans have that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Gifts. Celebrations of birth. You were born once, so why celebrate it constantly?" Barricade sounded distinctly interested and Ted could not argue.

"Heh, well..." Ted began, "Families love each other. And to show that they really love their children, they celebrate their birthday every year. To give someone a gift on their birthday sort of says that you are glad that they were born."

Barricade was silent, his holoform watching the road in deep thought.

"Well, we should get back quick so I can give Mikaela her gifts!" Ted said.

O

As Mikaela awoke early that morning, she came down the steps, yawning and stretching. She walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes with one hand. The floor was cold, but she didn't seem fazed by it, despite she wore a thin nightgown.

"Daddy, you up?" she said.

Suddenly, Ted poked his head around the corner, grinning and holding a small birthday cake. "Happy Birthday, Mikaela baby!" he announced.

Mikaela grinned broadly and laughed as her father set the cake down. She bent over and blew the candles out. Barricade could hear their laughing and talking below. He sighed heavily and glanced down, noticing something down beneath his foot. With a raised optic ridge, he got an idea.

Shortly afterwards, Mikaela walked out into the junkyard, wearing a new coat Ted had gotten for her. She giggled happily, until she caught sight of something beneath the porch. Grunting, she carefully slid under the porch and cocked her head. With a faint smile, she knew what it was.

A small cat. A gray and white one that had been placed inside a metal, makeshift box. She grinned and picked the cat up. It mewled slightly.

"Aww! Well, hi there, little buddy!" she gushed, "Oh my God, you're so cute! Where's you come from anywa..." She trailed off and glanced back at the garage where Barricade was parked. She chuckled softly and her gaze softened.

So, he wasn't as bad as he tried to be.

Meanwhile, Wallow, Lacterator, and Shredder stealthily moved through the woods with Tranquility in their sights. Shredder simply grinned, delighted now that he would be just moments away from achieving his mission.

O

_Note_-Well, not as long as it should have been. But hopefully, you'll stay tuned for the next round!


	8. Her Young, Innocent Heart

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Six: Her Young, Innocent Heart**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Mikaela approached Barricade, holding her new pet in her arms. The cat seemed content with her, curled up into a furry ball in her arms.

"Hi." she greeted, "Thanks for the cat. He's so adorable."

A moment of silence answered her back. "You're welcome." Barricade finally answered. "Consider it a gift for your helping me. That's all."

Mikaela petted the cat's head. "I know about how you and dad rushed off earlier." she said, laughing softly, "Dad can't keep any secrets from me." She softened a bit and stared down at the black hood. "He told me you saved him from a bunch of thugs. That was pretty sweet of you."

A low rumbling from the Cruiser was the only response. Obviously, he felt a little embarrassed by the knowledge she now possessed.

"It's alright." Mikaela said, patting the hood gently with one arm, "No one else has to know about it, tough guy." She glanced toward the house, concern crossing her features the second she heard a loud cough from inside.

To Barricade, it sounded rough, as if he had something lodged in his throat. He grimaced inwardly.

"What's wrong with your father?" he asked.

Mikaela glanced down at him with sadness. "He's sick." she said, "I know he LOOKS okay, but the doctors tell me that he might die from cancer in his lungs." She held the cat closer, obviously as a means of comfort. "I'm trying to find a way to get him help. That's why I took the job with overtime."

She felt something bump her and she glanced back. Barricade had pulled out of the garage somewhat and was nudging her gently with his front grill. "Do not allow your own emotion to devour you so." he advised, tone oddly gentle this time, "Trust me, it helps no one. Do what you can and that's all you can do."

Mikaela nodded her head in agreement and still didn't sound very convinced. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said. She paused for a moment and turned to him, smiling. "I have an idea. Why don't we just hang out today and just have some fun?"

"Fun?" Barricade repeated, surprised.

Mikaela chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, maybe we can just make a day out of it. It could just be what the two of us need." she suggested, "You've been stuck here for a while. I can...uh...maybe take you around and...show you our world."

Barricade didn't seem like he followed completely with her offer. He was silent for a long time and his silence made Mikaela a little uneasy now. Had she asked something so completely out of the ordinary? Had she insulted him somewhat?

"Never mind..." she said, quietly, turning to leave, "Maybe I'll just...go to work or something."

Barricade's engines growled slightly. "Well, maybe I'm not going to let you do that." he told her, voice with an edge to it.

Mikaela glanced at him, surprised. "So, you want to?"

Barricade was quiet. "Hm, I suppose a personal day wouldn't hurt..."

Mikaela stared at him for a long time and she could not resist the smile creeping over the edges of her lips. She grinned broadly and giggled. Soon, it broke out into full laughter and Barricade grumbled at her laugh.

"What?" he protested.

Barricade rode down the streets with Mikaela in the passenger seat. She grinned at his holoform and Barricade stared back, risking a smile.

"So, where are you taking me?" he asked her.

Mikaela chuckled. "Well, do you have any change?" She was fingering in her purse and a snort made her grin.

"Heavens no!" Barricade grumbled. "Why in Primus' name would I possess petty finances?"

Mikaela shook her head. "Okay then. I'll get the change." she replied, laughing softly.

Mikaela took Barricade to the park, a secluded place beyond sight of anyone. Barricade watched as she happily swung on the swing sets. He shuddered and transformed into his robot form, cocking his head curiously at her delighted sounds.

Mikaela leaned back, pushing herself on the swing with a little more strength and laughed, swinging back and forth. She looked up and grinned at him. Barricade shook, startling a small bird from him with a comical, irritated look on his face.

The entire day, the entire day Barricade was taught a little more about her and human kind. Some information he felt to be quite useless, but it was a personal day, so it did not hurt to share. After all, she had given him her personal information.

Mikaela wanted to stop for ice cream and Barricade complied. He sat, cross-legged on the ground while Mikaela talked and ate her frozen treat.

"So...did you always want to be in the army?" she asked, between mouthfuls of ice cream.

Barricade nodded. "That's a strange question; I was born to war. So yes. I always have." he said. He paused for the moment and considered his next words. "Well, there was one brief moment in my life, about several billion years ago...I once considered renouncing my place in the army..." He chuckled softly and then sighed, his voice suddenly filled with pain. "Once I...I met a lovely Cybertronian artist...who showed me the wonderful side of what life was...about how life could be...how I could be."

Mikaela smiled at him and shrugged. "But?" she inquired.

Barricade exhaled sharply, feeling a little uneasy about voicing his past to her. "But I had a decision to make... and nobody but Megatron could make it for me." he replied, softly, "I was devoted to my duty, and in the end, I guess ... " He trailed off and glanced down.

Mikaela was silent as well, seeing the hint of pain behind his optics that he tried to hide. She spoke now. "Did you love her?"

Barricade glanced at her sharply, the cold look returning. "Pardon me?"

"Did you love her?"

Barricade scoffed indignantly, not able to get rid of the angry smirk on his face. "Well, now you're just being rude, human." he snapped, "You shouldn't ask that kind of question to me. It's none of your concern."

Mikaela just laughed and shrugged. "It's a simple question, Barricade," she said, gently, "Did you love the chick or not?"

"This is stupid!" Barricade growled, glaring at her, "You don't ask someone those kinds of questions!"

Mikaela just grinned and shook her head, the game meant only to tell his feelings, not really to pester him so much. Although it was working, much to her delight, even. "And some of us just can't answer a simple 'yes' or 'no' question..." she mumbled, playfully.

Barricade snorted and looked away.

Mikaela and Barricade gazed up into the starry sky together.

"I always wondered what it would be like to travel in space." Mikaela sighed, hands behind her head. She pointed to a brighter star in the blackened sky, presumably Venus, as it was always the brightest star. "Or see that planet there."

Barricade squinted slightly and chuckled softly at her ignorance. "Your 'Sister Planet' possesses a dense atmosphere, which consists mainly of carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen. The atmospheric mass is 93 times that of Earth's atmosphere while the pressure at the planet's surface is about 92 times that at Earth's surface...a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of nearly 1 kilometer under Earth's oceans." he told her, "And including its 'Greenhouse' gases, a human being would no doubt fry on that planet before they could even reach it."

Mikaela laughed slightly. "Wow, leave it to you to put a doom label on everything..." she joked. When he did not react to the joke, she sighed and glanced back up at the sky. "What's space like, anyway? Is it as big as they go on about?"

Barricade nodded. "Oh yes, it is very big." he replied. "There are so many planets humans have yet to explore or even know anything about." He added in a near mocking tone. "Well, with their limited science skills, that's to be expected."

Suddenly, Barricade jolted upwards and aimed his cannon directly at a bush. Mikaela jumped up as well. "What?" she cried. "What is it?" She glanced in the bush and scowled, picking up her shoe. She tossed it into the bush and a loud, familiar yelp answered back.

"Come on out, you two!" Mikaela snapped.

Pudge and Stucky collapsed from the bush, flat on their faces. Barricade looked disgusted. "Why do you two continue to show up?" he snapped. "Do you want to die that badly?"

"Yeah, don't you have a house to haunt?" Mikaela added.

Pudge rose and grinned at Barricade. "Ahh, are you two going out on a date?" he joked, "Oh! Oh, maybe you're both gonna get married, huh?" He was letting his imagination get the best of him and laughed, helping Stucky up. "Oh, maybe they're gonna have little cyborg babies!"

Barricade was dead silent, features unreadable and Pudge laughed uproariously. "Ah! I guessed right, didn't I? You're a naughty robot guy!"

"No, I was simply too amazed by your stupidity to say anything." Barricade snapped.

Stucky and Pudge didn't seem fazed by the joke because both of them giggled like idiots. Mikaela tried to hide it, but no good. Laughter sputtered out of the corner of her lips. She glanced down at her watch and raised a brow. "Wow, it's getting late. I have to get back."

"I will take you home, then." Barricade replied, transforming into Cruiser form. Mikaela climbed in and as they rode off, she hollered out to the two.

"See you guys at work!" she shouted.

Pudge and Stucky waved after them with smiles. "Aww, dude, those two could be so sweet together." Pudge sighed.

Stucky glanced down at him skeptically. "Dude, you're sick." he muttered. He paused, and then flashed a wide grin. "But man, wouldn't that be awesome?"

"Dude!" Pudge cried, slapping high fives with his twin.

O

Mikaela and Barricade drove down the darkened streets in silence for a while. "Those two behave like little chattering monkeys..." Barricade said, irritated. "I should just crush them both before they ruin any hope of our plans."

"Oh, now you can't go killing people just because you feel like doing it." Mikaela pointed out, smiling gently, "Maybe that's something you should try and learn from us humans and the Autobots. Killing isn't the best choice, you know."

Barricade's holoform flashed her a glare. "SAYS WHO?" he demanded, "If you think that I can learn a thing from either humans or Autobots, I would be learning nothing but hypocrisy! I know they preach to you that 'Thou shall not kill'. But that's not the way this works. Those Autobots kill every day and for what? For politics, for religion, and THEY'RE HEROES!" His voice carried nothing but mockery in it now. "But when we, Decepticons kill, it's a crime."

Mikaela seemed to understand a reason for his anger. Murder, to them was perceived as justified by Autobot kind. But neither race seemed interested in discussing their differences in a civilized way. Truth be told, the same could be applied for the human race as well.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that, I..." she began.

Barricade's holoform seemed to relax, save for the firm gripping of the wheel. But his features still seemed to be a bit angry.

Mikaela sighed, silent for a moment. "Tell me, is there any point in the day that Decepticons take a day off?" she said, "I mean, from their tenseness. I bet that Megatron guy could have had a lot of take-off time built up. Same goes for you too."

Barricade's holoform reacted the most that it's ever had, the red-eyed gaze going wide with a grunt of surprise directed to her. Finally, his frame shuddered and a chuckle escaped him. Mikaela stared down, surprised at the sound.

"Barricade?"

A strange sound filled the air. A sound Mikaela had never heard before.

Barricade was laughing!

Mikaela had never heard him laugh before. She felt almost thrilled by the near musical pitch of the Cruiser's laughter. It was almost beautiful. "Are you actually laughing?" she asked, amazed.

Barricade's holoform dimmed out; obviously unable to focus due to the laughter still generating from him. He wasn't sure how to handle this, but decided to just sit back and enjoy the feeling this young, sweet human had granted him.

They pulled up into the junkyard and Mikaela noticed the lights out in the house. She climbed out of the Cruiser and smiled down at him. "Thanks for today."

"I thought we agreed that it was your doing?" Barricade seemed to purr, his deep voice absent of an edge and more smooth now. Obviously, laughing had cheered him up somewhat.

Mikaela laughed gently, furrowing her brow. "Well, is that a 'I had fun' or more of a 'I'll squish you if you ever bother me again'?"

"I wouldn't squish you." Barricade said, a very faint chuckle following. He paused for a moment. "Not unless you asked for it."

That made her tense up a bit. But she could not help but smile at his sense of humor. She walked up to the porch and watched as Barricade transformed. She raised her brows. "What are you doing?"

The Cruiser stared at her skeptically. "I thought I'd try and sleep like this tonight." he said.

Mikaela saw no harm and turned to the front door. Oddly enough, it was cracked open somewhat and she furrowed her brow. Mikaela stepped into the darkened kitchen and sighed.

"Dad! I'm home!" she called. "Dad!"

But when she switched on the kitchen light, she nearly slipped and stared down. A crimson trail traveled clear through the kitchen. Mikaela felt her heart go cold and she cautiously followed the trail up the stairs. "Dad?" A lamp had been smashed across the hallway-casting an eerie glow across the ceiling-and it looked like a hurricane had hit the rest of her house. Mikaela felt a chill and bit her lip. "Dad?"

She could hear meowing and glanced down. Her cat was standing there in the doorway to her father's bedroom. She picked him up and gasped softly. Small bits of blood covered the cat's left side. His small nose and pink lips were covered with it.

Mikaela cautiously took a step into her father's room-

-and wished she hadn't.

Blood. Blood was everywhere. Claw marks trailed jagged paths down the walls and floor. The television played static and a bloody hand print covered a good portion of the walls. Mikaela's eyes grew wide in horror. She could not believe what she was seeing. For the moment, time seemed to stop as she spotted her father, a tattered, bloody mess in the corner of the bed.

She opened her mouth and screamed.

O

_Note_-And now comes the plot! Am I bad? Oh yes.


	9. A Chill in the Air

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Seven: A Chill in the Air**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Mikaela stood still, unable to completely process the gore before her. Her shaking hands reached her face and she screamed.

Outside, the sound reached Barricade and he rose, moving toward the house. "Mikaela!" he shouted. But then, he quickly halted and spun around, claws seizing the throat of the mech behind him.

Ironhide.

"Get your hands off me, Barricade!" Ironhide spat, throwing Barricade's clawed hand from his throat.

"What are you doing here?" Barricade hissed, red optics flaring in the dark.

Ironhide seemed to desire one thing and that was beating the Decepticon's head in. But right now, he only had to concern himself with Mikaela. Driving down the alleyway had allowed him to catch the scream. Any Autobot's natural reaction was to draw conclusions with a Decepticon around.

"I heard a scream!" Ironhide spat. "What's going on?"

The two mechs looked back over their shoulders at the sight of Mikaela stumbling out of the house, her hands and shirt covered with blood. Ironhide's optics widened and Barricade's did as well, the second that he sensed the distress in the air.

"Mikaela, what's going on?" Ironhide gasped. "Are you hurt? Is there a situation?"

Mikaela's face was soaked in tears, thrusting her bloody hands out to the two. "_WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK_?" she screamed.

O

The police arrived as soon as the call was sent out. A grim Mikaela stood outside, watching as police and photographers ushered their way through the junkyard and into the house. The Transformers stood aside, watching the scene.

"Mikaela..." Barricade began, glancing down at her.

Mikaela laughed softly, but it was a dry and bitter sound, empty of any kind of feeling. "I must look like a mass murderer to them." she muttered, gesturing down at her bloody shirt. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Barricade faintly smiled. "You look fine to me." he said.

Mikaela returned the smile and stared down. "Thanks for trying to help, but I don't think anything can right now." she murmured, quietly.

"I understand." Barricade replied, nodding.

Ironhide and the others were talking in private and finally, the weapon specialist gestured with one hand to Sideswipe. When the Corvette approached, Ironhide gruffly cleared his throat. Barricade caught this and turned with a frown.

"You disappear for a while, and now that you're back, I have a pretty good idea what happened here tonight." Ironhide growled. He glanced at Sideswipe with a single gesture. "Scan him."

Sideswipe stepped up to Barricade and these actions seemed to startle Mikaela. She looked up in surprise and took a few steps back.

"Come along," Sideswipe said, gently to the Cruiser, "Quick scan."

Barricade glared at the Autobots in frustration, growling. "Now what is this?" he demanded, "What the slag is going on, Prime?" But he turned and allowed Sideswipe to scan him with a small, data-tracking device strapped to his wrist.

Mikaela glanced at Optimus for help, but the leader was silent. Sighing heavily, she turned to Ironhide. "Ironhide, what are you doing?" she demanded, irritated and still in despair. "Ironhide, you can't be serious! We're in the middle of an emergency right now and you-"

Sideswipe turned and lifted Barricade's clawed hands. "Is this it?" he said.

Everyone turned. There were remnants of something odd beneath Barricade's joints. Ratchet leaned in close, optics flickering. "Scans indicate carbon material and bone matter. Plasma structure roughly 55% of fluid; dissolved proteins, glucose, mineral ions, hormones, carbon dioxide, platelets and blood cells themselves."

Mikaela immediately froze, and Barricade blinked in disbelief. She was stunned, and needless to say, so was the Cruiser. He glowered at Ironhide. "What are you trying to prove, here, you thick-headed bucket of bolts?" he snarled.

Optimus sighed heavily. "Barricade, we discovered a massive breach in Mikaela's home. There is no denying the evidence." he said, gently. He seemed to regret what had to be done. But all sources indicated that Barricade may have killed Ted.

While they were arguing, Ratchet leaned in close toward the house, murmuring thoughtfully. He began to scan the entire area, avoiding the humans at his feet.

Barricade leaned down to Mikaela as Sideswipe began to cuff him with energy-based cuffs. "Don't you believe it, Mikaela. Don't!" he insisted, "I did not kill your father!"

Mikaela stared at him, her tone uncertain. She KNEW he could not have done it, but a part of her, a small part doubted this idea slightly. "No...He couldn't..." she murmured, softly. Her eyes were filled with even more pain now, possibly the idea of being betrayed.

Ironhide chuckled coldly and glanced at Barricade, shaking his head. "Of course he could. Easy enough for a Decepticon intelligence professional." he sneered, "Maybe he waited while you slept, darted off, and killed your father in his sleep."

Mikaela shook her head desperately. She did not want to believe this at all. "But I was with him the whole time." she whimpered.

Behind them, two police officers observed the tattered remains of Ted. "Hm..." one of them mused, "Old boy really put up one helluva fight." He hesitated and stared at his comrade with confusion on his face. "Still, this looks like a job too small for that big fella over there." He gestured to Barricade.

Optimus stared down, disappointment in his voice. "Sideswipe, take him to the brigs until I can figure this out..." he ordered.

Barricade snarled and thrashed as Sideswipe started to drag him away. "Mikaela, don't listen to them...I didn't do this! You know I didn't!" he shouted, "You know it!" His next words were directed to Sideswipe. "Let me go, you Autobot worm!"

Mikaela watched him go, pain oh her features.

After the funeral, Mikaela and her family members joined her in her house for some food. Pudge and Stucky checked every invitation and nodded their heads. They stopped at Mikaela's grandfather, Grandpa Ken. He scowled at them.

"Okay, now be careful." Pudge told him. "Since the guy was killed, there's about-oh-probably several hundred snipers circling the building."

Grandpa Ken scoffed. "No there's not." he snapped.

Pudge raised a brow. "Would you believe half a dozen Elite Guard commandos?"

"No."

Pudge thought about this for a moment and then he smiled weakly and shrugged. "How about Chuck Norris with a BB gun?"

Stucky moved aside, allowing Grandpa Ken to move through. Mikaela was sitting in the living room, staring down with despair. She had so much running through her mind right now. Like, what to do about the shop. What to do about her future now.

"Hey!"

Mikaela looked up and noticed-much to her surprise-Sam pushing his way through Stucky and Pudge to get to her. "Come on, I gotta get in and see Mikaela!" he protested.

"Yeah, yeah, take your drama bomb outside, pal." Stucky snapped, giving Sam a push, "Mikaela don't wanna see nobody right now."

Mikaela climbed to her feet and sighed, sadness still in her eyes. "It's okay, you guys, he's good to go." she told them.

Stucky and Pudge rolled their eyes and let Sam through and he rushed over to embrace Mikaela tightly. This outward act startled her, obviously. Sam was usually too shy to do stuff like this in public. She sighed then, knowing why he was.

"Mikaela, Bumblebee and I rushed over the second we heard!" he said. "Trust me, he's one hell of a fast driver out there!"

Mikaela gently pushed Sam aside and smiled sadly at him. "Sam, it's okay. You shouldn't have left your school for me."

"B-But I had to!" Sam insisted, glancing back at his parents as they started to get out of the car. "After I heard your father was killed by..." He trailed off, unsure of how to put it. He also seemed disturbed and looked around. "That cop guy..."

Mikaela's features hardened now. "Sam, he didn't do it." she said, in a fierce whisper. She was on the verge of crying again.

Sam seemed confused by her defensive tone. "But how do you know that?" he asked, warily, "I mean, the guy tried to kill me and-"

"I know that!" Mikaela nearly shouted, voice breaking. She hesitated and controlled herself now. "He's...he's not like that. I know him and I've spent time with him and..."

Sam looked shocked now, his voice almost squeaking out of him in a frightened hiss. "You what?" he gasped, stepping back from her. "Mikaela, are you serious? He's...one of them! I bet he'll kill you as soon as you let your guard down!"

Mikaela glared at him now. "Sam, you left me with no promises of ever coming back!" she spat, furious, "He's been a friend to me! At least he was here!" So the truth finally came out after all this time. Her lips trembled, crying imminent.

Sam backed up, hurt all over his face. "Mikaela, I-I'm sorry, I-"

Mikaela stared at him with despair, not caring if everyone was staring at her. "Sam, look...I'm really sorry but I have to be alone right now, okay?" And with that, she quickly stormed out of the house. Stucky and Pudge rushed after her.

"Mikaela!" Stucky called.

She ran and ran until she reached the garage and covered her face with one hand. Her two friends moved at her side, patting her back and trying to offer comfort.

"Mikaela, are you alright?" Pudge said, gently. He chuckled. "Hey, if you gotta let it out, you go ahead, girl. Get mad."

Mikaela pulled her hand from her face and stared at her two friends with sadness. "I'm not sure I'm feeling anything right now..." she told them, softly, "I just feel...numb."

Stucky and Pudge nodded. "Hm, well, maybe that's just the kind of feeling you need right now." Pudge said, patting her shoulder. He watched as she looked up and grinned. "Hey, you go on ahead to find that robot guy, we'll take care of everything."

Mikaela stared at Stucky with surprise.

Pudge grinned as well. "What do you want us to do, Mikaela?" he said, "You want me to tell 'em all to shut the hell up?"

Mikaela laughed slightly. "No. I appreciate the help. Thanks." she told them. She paused before laughing again. "You guys can be adults when you want to."

Pudge and Stucky laughed, slapping high fives. "Hey, we just know how to take care of our girl, know what I'm sayin'?" Stucky joked.

Mikaela just smiled, eyes filling. "Thanks, guys." she said, before darting off.

O

Barricade sat behind the energy bars, pacing angrily back and forth. Ironhide stood on the other side with a cold smile. He walked into the cell and Barricade backed up a few paces.

"Did you think we wouldn't find out?" he growled, "Did you think you'd get away with it?"

Barricade glowered menacingly at him and showed his fangs. "I don't want to correct you on what you _think_ you know, Autobot, but-" He cried out when Ironhide delivered a heavy blow directly into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

"I'm in control here, Decepticon. So I suggest you keep your processor shut!" Ironhide snapped. He stormed out and Barricade was left gasping and wincing.

Just as Ironhide left, Ratchet walked in and Barricade hissed at him. "Barricade, you won't believe this but you can go free!" he said, "I scanned the entire house and the particles left behind indicate you were not the culprit responsible."

"Really?" Barricade said, sarcastically.

"Yes, the DNA found on you were dead cells, long dead." Ratchet continued. "There were remnants of plant and animal DNA left at the scene. And the marks left on Mikaela's father could not have possibly belonged to you."

"Is that right?" Another sarcastic pitch.

Ratchet nodded. "Yes." he told him, "You're free to go."

"Am I?"

Ratchet began to get a little irritated. "Yes and..." He cut himself off and frowned. "Barricade, I don't know how else to say it."

Barricade stood up and brought his jagged face close to Ratchet's. "Well, to begin, I have a request."

"And that is?"

A smirk from the Decepticon. "I want each and every Autobot to offer their condolences to me directly; through means of allowing me full access to every single bit of data on your ship if you wish to capture this being responsible."

Ratchet shook his head, appalled by the request. His optics flickered with doubt. "I really can't allow that!" he protested.

"Barricade?" a voice called, from the halls.

The Cruiser lifted his head. It was Mikaela. "Mikaela!" he shouted, "In here!"

Mikaela appeared in the doorway and rushed up to him. "Barricade!" Ratchet stepped out of the way for her. "Barricade, Barricade, Barricade...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He was smiling. "So, you believe me?" he said.

"Ratchet told me everything!" Mikaela told him, so happy to see him, it was almost embarrassing. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you! That was just stupid. I'm sorry!" She put her arm through the energy bars and touched his sharp face gently.

"Someone set me up, Mikaela." Barricade said. "Someone must have." He growled, clenching his hands into tight, shaking fists. "And when I find the fool responsible, he or she will regret the day they were every spawned into existence."

"I know, I know."

Ratchet watched the emotion between them and sighed with an expression of pity. "Barricade, do we have a deal?" he said, softly.

Barricade looked up and offered his jagged hand. "We do."

Ratchet reluctantly shook hands with the Decepticon, feeling a chill in the air at the possibilities of what would come out of this. Nothing good, he knew.

O

"WHAT?"

That was Ironhide's only shocked word. Optimus lowered his head and nodded. "Yes, I will allow Barricade sufficient freedom. Within the ship's walls and their walls only."

Barricade smiled with pride. "Thank you, Prime." he replied, brushing passed him.

Mikaela followed and they both walked outside. Barricade stared down at Mikaela. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Mikaela."

Mikaela smiled sadly and wiped her eyes. "Don't be. You didn't kill him."

"No. I mean, I'm sorry...that he's gone." Barricade told her, "He was all the family that you had. You put so much into him."

Mikaela smiled softly up at him. She was touched by his concern. Somehow, she knew it was not an act. Not this time, anyway. "Did you ever lose someone you cared about?" she asked him.

He looked startled by that, but did not respond for a bit. He smiled sadly. "Yes. A long time ago..."

O

_Note_-And now, you will see who's responsible for Ted's death in the next chapter, provided you haven't already figured that out.


	10. The Heart of the Machine

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer**: Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Eight: The Heart of the Machine**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Mikaela should have known that as soon as she and Barricade returned to the house, there would be a confrontation. Sam was there with Bumblebee and both aliens loomed toward each other, optics flaring in challenge.

"Guys, really; please don't do this right now, okay?" Mikaela begged, softly, "It's been a bad day for all of us. Just relax."

Bumblebee kept his gaze fixed on Barricade. "Mikaela, may I speak?" he requested.

"She did say not to do this," Barricade growled, menacingly, "So why don't you listen to her and keep it to yourself?"

Sam seemed to shake lightly in the presence of the Cruiser, but he felt a little safe with Bumblebee standing there at his side. He knew that Barricade wouldn't attempt anything at the moment, but it could not hurt to be careful now.

"Mikaela, what's going on?" Sam asked, taking a step forward.

This made Barricade growl deeply in warning, a rattling clicking sound. The noise halted Sam in his steps. He wasn't so sure why Barricade did that and it made him nervous even more. So instead of pursuing it, he backed up.

Stucky and Pudge were walking out of the house, talking to one another. "Man, it's a good thing we got them circlin' buzzards outta here. Poor Ted should be left in peace!" Stucky said. A pause. "Maybe he's got a message on him! Like, like," His eyes lit up. "Like in Con Air!"

Pudge grimaced with disgust at the movie reference. "AWWWW man, did that movie suck!" he snapped, shaking his head.

The second the two spotted Bumblebee, they grinned excitedly and rushed up to him. "Ooh, another one!" Stucky cried, happily, "It's another robot guy!"

Bumblebee chuckled softly and glanced down at Mikaela. "These are your friends?" he murmured, amused by the excitement of the boys.

"Uh, yeah, this is Pudge and Stucky." Mikaela replied, almost forgetting about the boys.

The two waved at Bumblebee, giggling once more in the same fashion as Barricade. This annoyed the Cruiser, but seemed to touch Bumblebee in some strange way. He was glad to see human unafraid of him. He chuckled as they began to bombard him with questions.

"So! What's it like in space?...Are there bug-eyed Martians?...Can you drink soda in space?...What's your planet like...?"

Bumblebee knelt down on one knee to them. "Well, kids, one at a time." he said, laughing, gently. "If you want to know about space, I can tell you stories."

The two sat down and eagerly listened.

Barricade and Mikaela watched this and raised their brows. "Hm, well, at least it did get them out of my hair for a while." Mikaela said, chuckling softly. She and Barricade started to go, and Sam caught this. He rushed over with a start.

"Mikaela, where are you going?" he demanded, "You going with him?"

Mikaela sighed heavily. "Sam..." she began, not really sure how to put it. She did not want to cause more pain at the moment, but she knew he had to go back and finish his studies instead of worry about her. So she tried to put it as delicately as she could. "Why don't you just go back to college. I'm safe here."

She turned before she could see the look on his face. She did not, but she knew he must have had a very hurt expression there.

Meanwhile, lurking behind the Bane's family house was Shredder. He grinned wickedly, revealing those sharp, deadly teeth. His reptilian wrist slid back to reveal a small computer screen built into his systems.

"Lord Starscream, the boy is here...the plan has worked..."

Mikaela and Barricade watched the small town of Tranquility as they sat alone together on a hillside. Barricade had suggested she take the time to relax. Yes, there were more important matters of which needed focus, but Mikaela needed to have some time to relax. No sense in getting worked up. He knew that did nothing to help the situation.

"Don't you think it's strange that we were-" Barricade began, unsure of how to put it. He stared down at his clawed hands. "We were out, both of us, and your father is attacked."

Mikaela shook her head. She was drinking a small bottle of wine cooler to try and numb the pain. "It won't get us on David Letterman..." she said, quietly, "Besides, I can't really think of anyone who'd want to kill my dad. Trent's a loser, but he's no killer."

"Well, perhaps," Barricade replied, glancing down at her. "But we will-and I promise you that-we will find the being responsible for their misdeeds."

Mikaela nodded in agreement. Shortly afterwards, she began to much on some crackers she managed to swipe from the house. A sadness washed over her eyes. "You know, I saw someone on the street today," she told him. She smiled with pain. "I...I was hoping that it was dad. I was hoping that maybe this would all just be a bad dream. And when I stopped the man, hoping it was dad...it wasn't."

Barricade nodded his head once. "Mikaela, would your father want you to go on mourning for him this way?" he asked.

Mikaela looked up at him and a weak glimmer of amusement touched her eyes. "I don't think I'm relaxing, I'm hiding." she told him.

There was a raised optic ridged gaze from the Cruiser. "What from?"

"Ironhide." Mikaela joked, sputtering laughter escaping her tight lips.

Barricade smiled and shook his head. "Forget that bucket of bolts!" he said, trying not to laugh, "We're not talking about him right now."

Mikaela nodded and glanced down at her wine cooler. "Yeah, you're right," she replied. She was silent for a brief moment and leaned against Barricade's leg. "I don't know what to do...I miss him so much."

"Of course you do," Barricade replied, "After all, he was your father." He tilted his head down at the human who was snuggled against his leg. He was dumbfounded by her closeness. "Why are you not afraid of me?" he suddenly asked, confusion in his voice.

Mikaela smiled weakly . "Well, I was, at first. The crazy running and screaming like a murdered victim proves that." she admitted, gaze wandering to each little detail of his frightening face. "Then I guess I just...got used to you a little bit. Me and dad. I took the time to learn about you, I guess."

Barricade squinted at her in disbelief. Her ideals were simply unheard of in the most realistic world. "What kind of creature are you?"

Mikaela sputtered laughter out of her tightened lips as she tried to restrain it. "That's kind of a silly question, Barricade," she told him, "I'm Mikaela Banes and I'm a human woman."

"No. You're something more than that." the Cruiser said, frowning, "You're something more than just a mere squishy human."

A giggle from her. "Say what?"

Barricade simply shook his head and looked up toward the moon. It was getting entirely too late. She would need sleep. Perhaps some time to sleep off the bad feelings about what had happened.

Mikaela slept in the backseat while Barricade drove her home. She snuggled deeply into the leather and smiled in her sleep. Barricade could feel her fingers delicately kneading his leather interior, sending chills through him.

Mikaela was still sound asleep when they returned to the house. Barricade's holoform glanced back at her, unsure of whether or not he should wake her up. But as he looked up again, Bumblebee and Sam were standing there in front of him.

"Barricade, where have you been?" Bumblebee snapped. Pudge and Stucky were obviously inside because he soon spotted both of their shapes pacing back and forth in the house.

Barricade rumbled softly and rather menacingly. "Bumblebee, may I suggest you leave me to speak with the boy, Sam, alone?"

Bumblebee grunted, appalled by the demand. "Do I look like a fool?" he snapped. Barricade was silent for a long time and that added to Bumblebee's irritation. "I will be within visual range, Barricade. So try anything and I will come for you."

"I'll keep that in mind..." Barricade muttered, as the Camaro took a few steps out of hearing range. Finally, he turned to a very nervous Sam. "I want you to know one thing, human: Mikaela is safe with me. So you should go back to your precious school and leave her in peace."

Sam, still in fear, managed to speak with an edge to it. "You know, she doesn't like having anyone tell her how she is."

"I know." Barricade said, advancing a few paces on his wheels. He lowered his voice to a dark and very dangerous level. "I also know how you feel about her, and I do not like it."

Sam backed up with a soft sound of fear, but he finally laughed. "So, what?" he whispered, "Do you got a thing for her?"

Before the Cruiser could answer that, Pudge and Stucky came rushing outside, talking rapidly to Bumblebee. "Well, we were trying to find some kind of connection to the scratches to a creature or person responsible." Stucky said.

Pudge added, in a shameful voice. "But we keep getting distracted by porn."

Bumblebee laughed gently. "It's alright, boys," he told them, "Perhaps research isn't your forte. I'll see if there is anyway Ratchet can research your human database for any such matches." He turned toward Sam. "Time to get you home."

Sam kept his wary gaze on Barricade, who's holoform was up and watching Sam with suspicion. "Yeah, good idea..." he said, quietly.

Barricade watched as the Camaro eventually pulled away with Sam, who watched him coldly out from his window. Stucky and Pudge turned to the Cruiser and grinned. "Wow, so did you and Mikaela have a great date time?" Stucky joked.

Pudge laughed, and then shrugged, confused. "How can you date a car, anyway? It'd be like me dating a HUGE, REALLY HUGE fat lady and living inside her." he said. "And she'd be all like..." He made revving engine sounds and mimed gunning the engine of a car.

"Pudge..." Barricade began, irritated. "Don't you make me-" He paused, just as Mikaela sat up and yawned. "Ah, you're awake."

Mikaela blinked a bit and climbed out, glancing at the two. She wiped her eyes a bit. "What are you guys still doing here?" she asked, "I mean, shouldn't you be home by now?"

Stucky and Pudge giggled sheepishly. "Well, we were kinda worried about you and..." Stucky began. He sighed and gestured to the massive hole in the wall. "Besides, someone has to re plaster this hole. Any jerk off can get in there, man."

"Yeah, and we were lookin' on your computer and...kinda..." Pudge said, "Got distracted by downloading a LOT of porn."

Mikaela smiled softly at that, making an attempt at what was still rather hard for her to do. "Guys..." she sighed. Then, a thought crossed her mind and she frowned harshly now. "Wait, you were using my computer to download porn?"

The two giggled. "Uh, is that mom calling?" Stucky stammered, "See ya'!" And with that, the two took off before anything could be said.

Mikaela just watched them go, shaking her head. "Well, I should get to sleep." She started to walk toward the house, but froze. Barricade watched her curiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Mikaela turned back to him, features pale and sadness in them once more. "Um...I know it's weird and everything but...Is it alright if I can...sleep with you tonight?" she asked, timidly, "I...I can't really sleep in that house right now after what's happened and I'm just-"

A moment of silence before he responded, his voice strangely gentle. "I understand." Barricade replied, more than she knew, "Yes. You may."

Mikaela smiled in relief and his rear door opened, allowing her to slide in the back and curl up against his cool leather seats. She felt warmth fill the entire cab and sighed, shutting her eyes. Barricade relaxed himself on his shocks.

"Goodnight, Barricade."

A moment's hesitation. "Goodnight."

And while she slept, Barricade watched her carefully. His holoform reached out and gently brushed aside some hair resting against her face. A tender smile crossed his holoform's features. This was a smile Mikaela would not see when she was awake.

"Mikaela. There are so many regrets I have...and one of them was failing to make the choice of happiness when I had...when I had her. I used to believe that was true about everything; in this war, no personal feelings mattered or ever would." He sighed deeply, not seeing Mikaela's eyes slowly drift open. She made sure that he would not see.

"I have been so lost." he continued, glancing upwards. He seemed to speak elsewhere. "I miss you..." A small pause. "I suppose I should have thanked you for saving me. But I didn't because...I didn't want to feel..." There was another brief pause and he smiled down at her. "I do regret one thing, my dear friend, and that's not having the courage to voice these words to you." Then, there was a humorless chuckle. "Who knows? Maybe one day, I will. Maybe." He sighed and leaned back, dimming his holoform. "You sleep now. Everything will be different in the morning ... "

He did not see Mikaela laying there, her eyes open and misty.

O

Note-Took me two days and Starscream is going to be back in the picture very soon.


	11. The Beast Shifters

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Nine: The Beast Shifters**

_Deep Space_

_Cybertron_

Starscream watched the planet of Earth; a tiny, glowing blue orb through his computer system within his former leader's chambers on Cybertron. He was silent for the longest time, a small drink of golden fluid clutched tightly in his claws.

"My time will come..." he murmured, to himself, "Yes, It will co-" A loud beeping sound across his COM-link made him growl heavily in annoyance, optics slanting into a horizontal line. He pressed a button and sighed. "What?" he snapped, heavily and impatiently.

Outside, Skywarp was standing, surrounded by many dead Autobot drones. The purple, jagged Seeker smiled to himself. "Hi there, boss!" he announced, "This is just Skywarp, your nasty little beat down boss of the Decepticon Seeker army speaking." He spoke, a little more serious now. "I'm just lettin' you know that the temple's all clear on my end. Now all we gotta do is get those Autobot fraggers onto the Cube and we're in the green."

"Alright." Starscream said, "Call for Thundercracker to assist you. I will be out shortly."

"You got it." Skywarp replied, ending the conversation.

Starscream rose and walked out of the recharge station, clawed feet delicately flexing. He started to walk down the chrome halls, but froze and noticed an 'Incoming Message' alert flashing on one of his computers. Frowning, he touched the screen and the image of Shredder immediately flickered into view. Shredder seemed displeased about something.

"_My Lord, I have an urgent message for you_." he replied, "_The capture of the human boy and female have yet to come into fruition_." He glanced back on screen, grunting softly. "_It seems...it seems Barricade is...No-harbors some affections for her. This has not gone as planned at all_."

Starscream's optics slowly widened in disbelief. "Barricade's...what?" he gasped.

But Shredder was simply transmitting a one-way message, so Starscream was not heard. "_The three of us will do something about that prior to your arrival, Lord Starscream_." he continued, "_However, it will be a problem. Barricade is, after all, a very loyal Decepticon. Punishing him would be quite a loss_."

Starscream gritted his teeth in disbelief and raised a fist to the computer. He smashed it deep through the glass, fury etched across his features. Bits of shards sprinkled down all over the floor.

"Barricade cannot betray us!" he growled, deeply.

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

Sunlight shone down into the tinted windows, despite their darkness. Mikaela blinked sleepily and stretched, yawning.

"Good morning."

Mikaela smiled faintly at the near relaxed tone in Barricade's voice. "Hi." she mumbled. She glanced around sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Time for breakfast."

Barricade took Mikaela to a drive-thru restaurant and she sighed with contentment. "Coffee sounds really great right about now..." she said, taking out several dollar bills. "After all, I got one heck of a headache." She didn't care that people were staring outside, observing the police vehicle with surprise and the woman sitting comfortably inside.

"Yes, I have studied human drinking patterns and you call it a...'hangover', am I correct?" Barricade replied, holoform glancing back at her.

Mikaela nodded with a bright smile. "Yeah, that's about right." she said. She glanced up and pointed. "Oh. You're next."

Barricade pulled up to the drive-thru window and his holoform smiled pleasantly at the woman standing there in the window. Mikaela quickly hopped into the passenger's seat and leaned over, offering the woman the dollar bills.

"Sorry." she said, smiling, "He doesn't know how to handle money." She laughed, rather painfully, but hushed up the second Barricade's holoform flashed her a glower.

The woman chuckled slightly. "Yeah, that's how some men are." she joked.

Barricade glare intensified and he bared his teeth as Mikaela grabbed her things and sat back. Barricade pulled out of the drive-thru and stared at her while she started to eat. Mikaela caught this continued glare and laughed gently.

"It's just a joke between us girls on Earth." she told him, "No need to get your man wires in a twist."

"Hm." Barricade blinked slightly and glanced ahead with that same unflinching intensity as before. Mikaela started to unwrap her food and Barricade glared warningly at her. "No food in the upholstery or you will find yourself walking."

Mikaela took a small bite of her sandwich and laughed softly. A robot who maintained a reasonable appearance. Hm, if only Bumblebee practiced that somewhat. She had always hated going into Bumblebee and finding trash all over the place. The mech was just too polite to tell Sam to not use him for a dumpster.

"Okay." she said. She glanced down at the dashboard and cocked her head. She blinked and something slowly dawned on her. "Uh, Barricade, what's today?"

The near wariness of her voice made the Cruiser grunt softly. "According to your human calendar, it is precisely November 27th, 8:30 A.M."

Mikaela's eyes snapped wide. "Oh no! I was supposed to be at work!" she cried, "I'm late, and on a holiday! I'm dead!"

O

Mikaela's boss, Dick Jefferson was not thrilled at all when she arrived late for work. He was a tall, somewhat older man in his late forties wearing small glasses. He watched Mikaela with irritation as she scrambled to get behind her counter.

"I realize now that you lost your father, but I ASSIGNED you to work today, so pretend you care, at least." he snapped.

Mikaela gave him a cold glare, a glare that could crack ice.

Suddenly, Stucky and Pudge poked up from behind him, laughing. "Hey, Bossman." Pudge hissed, "Does your name ever get hard in the morning?"

Dick rolled his eyes and moved away from them. "Enough you two." he growled, "Go and get the carts out from the parking lot like you're supposed to." He walked over to the customer service desk and picked up his bag of lunch. Peering into it, he sighed and glared at the two.

"Where's the fish sticks my wife made?" he snapped.

Mikaela tried not to smile as she watched her two friends about to get chewed out. Pudge shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, wait a minute." he said, "Are those the same ones your wife gets her skin flakes all in them because of the nasty dandruff she's got?"

Stucky grinned. "Yeah. Miss' Dick." he joked. He paused and thought about it. "Alright, so let me see if I got this right completely; if there's Dick is in the fish sticks, and since we ate the fish sticks doesn't that mean we're eating Dick?"

A long pause and Pudge suddenly gagged with disgust. "What the fuck!"

Mikaela managed a small laugh and shook her head.

Later that night, after the Thanksgiving rush, Mikaela was about to close up. The store was dark as each light slowly shut off. Mikaela called back to Dick in the office. "Dick, I'm leaving!" she shouted. She paused at the lack of response. "Dick!"

Dick was in his office on the other side of the store and could probably not hear her.

Mikaela sighed heavily and started to walk toward the office, until she heard a sharp, quick cry come from it. She halted, standing there in the dark for a long time. "Dick?" she called, warily. She slowly, very slowly, inched toward the main office.

The light was flickering in and out as Mikaela approached. She opened the door and her eyes grew wide in horror. Dick was lying there on the floor, covered in blood and slashes. His face seemed to have been nearly chewed up by sharp teeth.

Mikaela's lips parted with horrified cries. Suddenly, a deep growling sound turned her attention toward the corner. Wallow was there, claws and jaws dripping with blood. The wolf Beast Shifter snarled at her and Mikaela cried out, turned and ran down the soda aisle. With a howl, Wallow barreled after her.

Mikaela ducked behind a pyramid of soda boxes and whimpered, covering her mouth with one hand. She glanced down at the soda and got an idea. Wallow hissed and snarled, claws striking the gleaming floor ominously. His red optics flickered about, looking around through his heat - based vision.

Suddenly, a blast of soda struck him dead in the face and he howled, thrashing and struggling to see through the frothy beverage. Mikaela had shaken up a bottle of soda and sprayed it right in his face. While the beast was distracted, she took off down the aisle, screaming.

Outside, Barricade was standing in the Banes' junkyard. He frowned and glanced back, as if he sensed something. At that precise moment, Barricade took off.

Wallow raised himself up onto two hind legs, roaring loudly in a terrifying battle cry. Mikaela ran as fast as she could toward the doors. Wallow was galloping after her, his massive paws thudding against the floor like a thunderclap of fury.

Mikaela managed to squeeze through the sliding doors and cried out, shutting them at the precise moment that Wallow dove through the air. His body became entrapped between the doors and he roared, thrashing and hissing wildly.

She turned and ran, just as Wallow wriggled free and charged after her like an angry rhino. Mikaela was screaming in panic and horror as Wallow lunged and-

-was seized by a heavy metal hand.

Wallow's optics snapped wide and came face-to-face with Barricade. The Cruiser gave a loud, bellowing roar at him and flung the Beast Shifter aside like trash. He crouched down in front of Mikaela, protectively and his snarl reached a higher pitch as Wallow rose, shaking his head of the no-doubt tingling sensation.

"Who are you?" Barricade roared, "How dare you touch her!"

Wallow's red gaze narrowed and the Beast Shifter crouched, back arched, ready to pounce. But he hesitated, gaze drifting toward Mikaela. Barricade raised his clawed fingers threateningly, as if daring the Beast Shifter to try anything.

Wallow growled lowly and backed up several paces. Finally, he turned and galloped into the night, raw, jagged beast form disappearing out of view.

Barricade watched as the creature vanished, and then he turned to Mikaela. Both of them looked worried-for what was going on, but most importantly, they were both worried for each other.

O

He reported the situation back to Ratchet, who took the time to observe Mikaela to see if there were any damages to her. She had none, but she was still pretty much shaken up. Ratchet turned toward a computer and typed in something.

"So...you say this was a Beast Shifter?" Ratchet said, surprised.

Mikaela frowned up at him. "Why is that a surprise?"

"Well, Beast Shifters are so few in number." Ratchet explained, "Rumor has it that they are older Transformers who explored prehistoric Earth." He glanced up at Barricade, amusement in his gaze now. "You got there just in time, then."

Barricade seemed to glower at all of those faint chuckles from the other Autobots. "So...can you explain to me what this thing is and why it was after Mikaela?"

Ratchet nodded. "Oh yes, of course." he murmured, turning back toward his computer. "The Beast Shifter is an animal-based Transformer with more...complex blending capabilities." he began, "Every Beast Shifter is capable of adapting to the forms of primitive Earth animals. They are programmed with the basic fighting skills, if not more. Nowadays, Beast Shifters are rare to find and are often used by higher authority Decepticons."

Barricade's optics widened at the last bit of knowledge.

Ratchet continued to research and frowned, glancing at the slash marks pictured on Dick and the same ones pictured on Ted. He began to compare them and sensed similarities. "Wait...these are..." he began, "These wounds are identical."

"What does that mean?" Optimus asked, watching the screen with equal concern.

Mikaela frowned in disbelief. She was on the verge of tears once more. "Why would they kill my boss and my dad?" she added.

Ratchet was silent for the longest time. He looked thoughtful and began to realize the truth. "They were after you." he realized, shock in his voice. His optics dimmed with horror. What could the creature want with Mikaela anyway?

"So what do we do about that?" Mikaela asked, worried.

"We simply keep you somewhere safe for now, until we capture these Shifters." Ratchet advised. "I may suggest staying with Sam, however," He glanced at Barricade and Bumblebee. "I want the two of you to get along and not kill each other, alright?"

Barricade and Bumblebee glowered at each other, but nodded in agreement. Ratchet was right. They had to keep a low profile now.

"Alright." Barricade murmured.

O

Judy and Ron were more than willing to allow Mikaela to stay with them for a while. Judy especially; she was thrilled to have her there.

"Now, you can stay with us for as long as you need to," Judy assured her, "You'll be safe here, no problem. And if there's anything you need at all, just ask." She was smiling in such a friendly manner, Ron gave her a skeptical glance.

"Wow, thanks a lot, Miss' Witwicky," Mikaela replied, smiling, "I really appreciate all of this. I hope it's no too much trouble."

Judy waved that off with a gentle laugh. "No, no. No trouble at all!" she said, "We're all glad to have you here with us!" Then, she added in a secretive tone. "Besides, when the guys go out, you and I could have some girl time, huh?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Judy..." he muttered.

Judy shrugged innocently. "What?" she protested, "I'm just trying to be friendly, Ron. You should try doing it sometime."

"I am friendly," Ron argued, "I'm just not _too _friendly."

Mikaela laughed and shook her head. She and Ron walked down into the basement. It was refurnished and looked just like any normal room. As Mikaela looked around, Ron was busy carrying some things in his arms and moving others around.

"This was where Sam and Miles came to hang out, but you could stay down here if you like. I mean, we don't have much, but it's insulated and comfortable." Ron said, a little sheepish.

Mikaela looked at him and nodded. "It's great," she replied, "Don't worry."

Ron smiled and glanced up. "Well, I'm going to go look for Sam," he said, "I'm sure he's been worried." He turned and walked up the stairs.

Mikaela glanced around at her new room. Not exactly what she wanted to find herself in, but it was for her own safety, so she had to live with it. Through the glass doors, she noticed Barricade pulling up in the yard and walked outside to meet him.

"This is completely unacceptable!" Barricade growled, "What makes that little yellow waste think that he can tell me where I should stay?"

"Well, it's just for a short time, Barricade," she assured him, "At least until we catch these guys who want me dead."

"Hm."

Mikaela sensed irritation in that small, barely uttered word. She shrugged. "Barricade, it's no big deal." she replied, "Just...relax and we'll talk about it later."

Later that night, Mikaela managed to get to sleep on the small pullout sofa in the finished basement. Outside her doors, Barricade was parked like a contented guard dog. He watched as she slept and realized that he did like her. And the thing no other Decepticon ever realized about him or believed was that he could learn. He knew the Autobots always look down their noses at his kind. Never giving him a chance cause they thought Decepticons could never learn. Always took the easy way out of life. But Barricade knew he did. Because one thing was certain-he actually _did_ believe in something-and what he believed in was her.

Images flickered throughout the back of his mind. He saw Starscream. Starscream a leader. Starscream bearing witness to his human...his Mikaela.

Suddenly, Barricade was driven with a strange fear that he had never known in his entire life.

Traitor.

He was a traitor and no doubt those Beast Shifters reported back to Starscream. No doubt in his mind. A faint rumbling of his engine and a single, terror-stricken word escaped him.

"No..."

Mikaela awoke from sleep at the sound of his engine and sat up. "Barricade?" she said. The discontented sound concerned her and she climbed out of bed quickly, walking over to the glass doors and sliding them open. "Barricade."

The Cruiser's sirens squawked slightly and his entire frame trembled. Mikaela frowned, fear clutching her. Something had been enough to scare even the most unflinching of robots that she had ever known. She reached out and found herself able to open the passenger door and climb in.

"H-he knows..." Barricade's voice was different, almost wounded and breathless; like the sound of a terrified man about to die. "He's going-going to kill me! They will kill me!"

Mikaela reached out and stroked the dashboard gently and stroked him, as if she were a mother trying to soothe a terrified child. "Barricade, just calm down. Relax before you get yourself worked up." she said, gently, "No one's going to kill you. I promise."

"Starscream-He-he knows..." Barricade moaned, not acknowledging the gesture-and Mikaela noticed his holoform flicker to life at her side. He was not in focus and things were starting to go completely out of whack. The human holoform was shaking horribly and looked downright tormented.

Mikaela bit her lip. Barricade sounded strange like this. His voice was high-pitched, trembling and small sobs mixed in; nothing at all like his usual stoic self. "Barricade, you have to calm down!" she said, gently, but shrank back when the holoform shook his head fiercely.

"N-No!" Barricade cried, "I won't be! He's going to come and he's going to rip me in half for my betrayal! He'll tear out my spark for this!" He didn't notice Mikaela moving closer to him. "He's going to-"

Mikaela took hold of Barricade's solid holoform's face and forced him to look at her. "Barricade. Look at me!" she insisted.

There was a long and tense moment of silence and Barricade's gaze eventually lifted to hers. He was shaking under her and his chest heaving. For an alien without lungs, he sounded like he was completely out of breath. His reddish eyes were wild, unfocused and filled with terror. "M-Mikaela..."

She smiled down at him. "Barricade, the Autobots will protect you no matter what happens. Remember, he left you with no one else. _He_ abandoned _you_." She watched him shake his head and moan beneath her, but she pulled his head close to her chest and his gaze widened. He felt her gently pet the top of his head. "I know it's hard for you to believe, but we are here for you. All of us."

A bitter laugh was her answer, but she ignored it and held this creature in her arms-well, his false image, which she was sure he felt.

"Mikaela?"

She knew by the tone that he wanted her to release him and she did so. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just...that...you sounded so messed up about this and I..." she told him, smiling sheepishly. "It's...I didn't mean to overstep boundaries or anything."

Barricade stared at her for a long moment, not responding. He leaned forward, tilting his head, watching a surprised look cross her features. Finally, he slowly pulled away.

"Forgive me..." he said, softly.

Mikaela knotted her brow. "For what?" she asked.

"I almost forgot myself and forgot what you are..." he said, a haunted look crossing his gaze. "And that in itself is wrong. I will not take advantage of your sadness." He looked at her now. "I am many things, but that is not one of them."

Mikaela sat there, processing what was just said. Finally, she leaned close to him and raised a hand to his face, pulling it to look at her once more. She was smiling faintly.

Barricade heaved an irritated sigh at her expression. "If the both of us were smart, we'd stay away from each other."

Mikaela managed a smile and shrugged. "Okay. Well, just to avoid an argument all together; let's just say that neither one of us are very smart then."

Barricade slowly inched forward, his eyes flickering red like a growing fire. He smiled slightly and knotted his brow at her. "You are a strange little creature, do you know that?" he murmured; there was a bare hint of amusement in his voice.

"Hm? Yeah, I guess all of us can be that way sometimes." Mikaela replied, chuckling slightly. She paused and inhaled deeply. "I just want you to see that there are more sweeter things in your life than just the taste of blood."

Barricade's gaze shimmered in controlled delight at her words. He moved his face forward, eyes never leaving hers and barely touched her neck. He breathed gently on the exposed skin and it was enough to send shivers through her body.

"I can smell so much on you..." Barricade murmured, "Your perfume, the grass, your hormones..." He seemed almost delighted by the blush crossing her cheeks. A deep sigh echoed from him. "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore." A chuckle. "Isn't that so strange? The predator falls for his prey..."

Mikaela's eyes felt heavy. "Then don't."

Barricade moved closer to her, studying her face for any falsehoods. "Know this, Mikaela Banes, once you say yes, there is no stopping me."

Mikaela hardly found her voice now as his fingers wove delicate paths up her back to her neck. "I know..."

A long pause and Barricade met her gaze with his fiery one. "Very well."

And his lips descended upon hers once again.

O

_Note_- I am EEEEEVIL! I end with cliffy!


	12. Sparks Fly

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. Frenzy will be among them, only because I love the little Demon Seed so. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Ten: Sparks Fly**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Sam's House_

Bumblebee and Sam were pulling out of the garage at the front of the house, ignorant to what was going on in the back. Sam sighed heavily and glanced down at Bumblebee's dashboard.

"Bumblebee?"

A brief moment of silence. "What is it, Sam?" Bumblebee asked, gently.

"Do you think that Mikaela..." Sam cut himself off for a second, ashamed. "Do you think she's got a thing for the police car guy?"

Bumblebee chuckled softly. "Oh Sam, you worry too much." he assured him, "Barricade-or the police car guy as you've come to know him as-considers humans to merely be pets or other inferior items. I highly doubt he feels the same if she feels those feelings at all. It would be highly unlikely."

Sam smiled faintly, a little more relieved with his friend's words. "Ahh, I guess you're right." he replied. He glanced back, over his shoulder. "Well, let's go get Miles. He wants to come over so bad..."

"That boy is quite unstable, isn't he?" Bumblebee joked, as they pulled into the street and out of sight.

Meanwhile, Mikaela and Barricade were in the middle of sharing a deep, invasive kiss in the front seats. Mikaela's foot accidentally pressed against Barricade's steering wheel and the horn blared, causing the being above her to jolt slightly with a odd strangled sound.

"Oh, sorry! Did I hurt you?" Mikaela looked up at him with concern.

He gazed down at her, his red eyes burning. They made his human face look so strange and predatory all at once. "_No_..."

Mikaela sensed the hidden desire tricking in his deep voice and raised a brow. She moved from beneath him and decided to try something. Watching him the entire time, she gently stroked the spot between the seats. Immediately, she felt warmth radiate from her touches.

She watched as Barricade's jaw tightened and his holoform shifted. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Mikaela smiled at him. "Seeing what you can feel in two forms."

"I see."

She was a little nervous about doing this. What would her father say to this if he were still alive? But looking at him sitting there, watching her with a controlled, hungry gaze; this immediately reassured her of any more doubts she had. This wasn't wrong. He had always told her if you cared for someone, it made no difference of the oddities.

Her fingers slid between his seats again and she watched Barricade's eyes close and his brow tighten in deep focus. His lips parted in a soft, pleased moan. She smiled in response and stroked him a little harder. Her fingers slid to the gear stick and felt a hot prickle of static beneath her palm.

Barricade snarled softly at the touch.

"Do you want more?" Mikaela asked, in a soft purr.

"_Yes_," he hissed, his voice dropping to a low register.

The teasing she continued almost became more than he could bear.

"I can wear any body you like," Barricade whispered, "...Be anyone that you want."

Mikaela was silent before sliding closer to him, her eyes closing. His voice send hot shudders through her body. "Just be yourself."

She felt him rumble softly and reached up with two hands. She felt warm metal and opened her eyes. He was in his real body and smiled faintly, a brow raised. "I am most comfortable in this form. I...hope I haven't put off your longing."

She giggled softly and shook her head, surprising herself by considering it to actually be a good thing now. "Not at all, actually."

Barricade's optics seemed to blink and he moved his head forward, slowly so she could see his intent. Mikaela shut her eyes and tilted her head to one side, offering more of her to him. His mouth gently caressed the tender skin of her throat.

A soft, pleased sigh escaped Mikaela's lips and she moved further into the kiss, her hands smoothing paths up the sides of his neck. Several wires received her attention; teased and stroked, enough to draw a quiet moan from him.

"You're not afraid of me..." Barricade whispered as if he didn't believe it, "You are not disgusted with my appearance like most of these petulant human worms..." He stared into her eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "What kind of human _are_ you?"

Mikaela found it harder to think with those metal lips, filled with warmth teased the area against her neck. Goosebumps prickled down her neck and arms, raising the little hairs there. Small electrical discharges wove their way through her body and melted her most sensitive regions into liquid. She reached up and touched a hand to his chest.

Barricade hissed sharply through gritted teeth as she touched the warm doors covering his spark chamber. His Spark had begun to ache for the touch of another, the irony of the situation was that it just happened to be a human-it happened to be her.

Mikaela glanced up at the reaction she received by touching his chest. Curious now, she brushed her hand in between the plates of his chest, static tickling her fingertips.

"_Mikaela_..." Barricade whispered, his hands clasping her wrists. His harsh, red optics seemed to shimmer and dim and his mouth part in a silent moan.

She watched him with a faint smile. "You like that?" And she touched between his chest again, feeling his pulse thrum heavily beneath the armor.

"Yesss..." the Cruiser growled.

Mikaela was not so sure why he felt pleasure so much at the touch to his chest but decided not to question it and continued stroking there to catch his reactions again; his brow knotted and his features tightened. The armor felt much warmer to her touch and she felt him tear her arm away from that spot.

"What's wrong?" Mikaela asked, worried she might have irritated him or something.

Barricade gave her a rather smooth smile, an attempt at covering his hunger although the smile was poorly attempted. "Nothing," he said, his voice sounding slightly strained, "It's just...If you keep that up, there's no force in this universe that can stop me from ravaging you right here."

Mikaela couldn't help but giggle. She grew quiet when she felt him caress her shoulder and gently apply pressure, giving her the indication to lay down. She did just that, resting her back against the door and allowing him to settle fully onto her. His teeth pricked gently at her delicate throat, not enough to draw any kind of blood-he was too careful for that-but enough to make her arch her chest against his. Her lips parted and she made soft, short moans. She felt him smile against her neck.

"So sensitive..." he sighed, "I enjoy how well you react to my touches."

Mikaela couldn't resist another smile. So, in tossing her doubts out the window, she raised one hand and brushed it against Barricade's back, fingers sliding beneath the armor to lift and prod the wiring she found there. The way it made the being above her hiss and shudder was worth it.

"Barricade...hang on just a second. Can you lie down on your back? I-trust me-I want to try something." Mikaela told him.

Barricade's optics brightened and he stared at her, almost suspiciously. Asking him to lie down in such a way meant submitting. And it also left him feeling vulnerable. Very vulnerable. He did not move, but rather stared at her.

Mikaela flashed a smile, sliding two hands on his shoulders. "You'll like it, I promise."

That promise wasn't enough to completely relax the Cruiser, but he slowly, very slowly, complied and rested on his back.

O

Meanwhile, Pudge and Stucky were on their way to Sam's house, until they noticed him in Bumblebee, parked along the side of the roar and waiting for Miles to come out of his house. They rushed up and giggled, poking their heads in the window.

"Hey, Sammy boy!" Pudge hollered.

Sam jumped and cried out in the seat, but he relaxed when he saw it was the two twits. "Guys, you gotta stop doing that, seriously." he snapped.

Stucky grinned widely. "Hey, we're gonna do some seriously fucked up shit with our weed." he said, "Wanna watch?"

"No I don't wanna..." Sam began, but trailed off, seeing them already preparing to do it. "Alright."

Pudge and Stucky both stood, facing each other. Pudge reached into his pocket, lit a joint, and brought it up to his nose. He inhaled deeply and exhaled smoke, puffs of it coming out of his mouth. He handed the joint to Stucky, who grimaced.

"Dude, that's sick." he snapped. A pause. "You had your nose hair snot all over it, man."

Sam smiled painfully. "That's...uh...that's great, guys," he murmured, with sarcasm, "Really talented. Both of you, I mean. That was good."

Pudge and Stucky slapped high fives. "See? Told ya' he'd go for it." Pudge said.

"Dude. Hey, let's go see if Mikaela and that cop car robot'll go for it." Stucky whispered, grinning fiendishly.

Pudge shook his head. "Nah. She's probably gettin' hot and heavy with him, or something."

That got Sam's attention. He jerked his head up with a frown. "What?" he exclaimed. He climbed out and stared at them both. "What did you guys just say?" His heart sank at the idea, but then again, these guys were just weed-taking crazies.

"Oh dude, Mikaela's totally got the hots for that robot guy." Pudge said. He noticed Stucky gesturing for him to shut up, but he didn't and laughed instead. "Nah, don't worry about it, man. Mikaela ain't gonna be mad at us. I mean, he did know, right?"

Stucky rolled his eyes as Sam grabbed Pudge by the shoulders. "I want to you tell me the truth," Sam said, sternly, "Have those two got something going on with each other?"

Pudge smiled and shrugged. "Well, the two talk about it a lot, but they always want alone time and Mikaela seems so happy around him all the time."

Sam's heart felt like it had dropped into the pit of his stomach. He looked down at Bumblebee and patted his hood with one hand. "We have to go back to the house." he told him, his voice rather deadened, "I need to know it from her."

A long pause of silence. "Okay." Bumblebee finally answered.

So Sam climbed into him and they rode off, not waiting for Miles. Stucky and Pudge stood there in the darkened street, watching him go.

"Oh man, Mikaela's gonna be so mad at us." Stucky said.

Pudge shook his head. He obviously had no idea. "No. I mean, Sam did know, didn't he?" he guessed. When he noticed the uneasy look on Stucky's face, his eyes went wide in realization and he gazed down the dark street. "Ohhhhh shit."

O

Mikaela was resting comfortably between Barricade's legs and a steady vibration was shooting warmth up her back and chest. While he fed pleasure to her most sensitive regions, she was busy teasing his chest and neck wiring.

Barricade felt his Spark pulsing quicker and hotter than ever and he clenched his teeth, moaning softly. He didn't want to feel as if his pleasure was his own weakness. Too long had he gone through life thinking these things. But it was hard to think as Mikaela's lips pressed against the neural wiring of his neck. He felt the overload charge building and knew it was imminent.

Mikaela wanted to laugh at the almost cute way Barricade's lips trembled and tightened as he tried to fend off his own release. The warmth flooding into the cab and the small vibrations Barricade sent up from the seats and his holoform shot into her, doing incredible things to her nervous system. She felt her face growing hot and groaned, sliding her arms around his neck.

Barricade saw up slowly, propping himself up on one hand and using the other to hold her against him. His jagged face seemed to scrunch and his fangs tickled her throat. Hissing sounds escaped his mouth.

"M-Mikaela..." he panted, against her neck, "Mikaela..."

His voice sounded so strange, deep and filled with trembles and gasps. Mikaela could feel his engine revving a little louder over the roar of the blood in her ears. Ribbons of fire burned deep into her pelvis and she arched her back, musical moans erupting from her lips as the fire within her erupted into an explosion of ecstatic cries and tension. Her fingers dug into his back and Barricade tensed at the sharp pinpoint of pleasure stabbing into his chest.

When Mikaela had relaxed after her climax, she gazed down at Barricade, smiling. "Barricade," she panted, "You're turn."

Barricade's unfocused optics trembled at the promise of his release. His clawed hands grasped Mikaela's arms and he tightened his hold. His sharp teeth gnashed and his optic ridges seemed to twitch. Finally, after a long struggle, Barricade surrendered himself to the inevitable. Moans, whimpers, and cries of every kind escaped his trembling mouth. He arched against Mikaela and tossed his head, uttering her name as his overload reached its peak.

Mikaela smiled down at Barricade, wiping the sweat from her forehead and leaning down to give him a quick peck on the lips. The two did not see Sam coming up the driveway and looking back at them. His eyes grew wide and trembled.

Barricade and Mikaela relished the aftermath and simply relaxed in the backseats; Mikaela lying against Barricade's chest and allowing him to gently stroke her hair. He seemed so gentle now and Mikaela decided she liked this side of him.

"That was rather nice, Mikaela." Barricade murmured. "I haven't felt something like that in some time."

Mikaela glanced up at him with a faint smile. "You looked so..." she began. She shook her head. "I've never seen you so peaceful before. I hope I can see more of that side of you."

Barricade chuckled and she felt it's vibrations rush up her back. "Hm. Well, we shall see, Mikaela." he murmured, in an almost playful tone. "But haven't you been listening to those Autobots? I'm very tense and paranoid. I've been told."

Mikaela giggled softly and rested her head beneath his chin. Outside, Pudge and Stucky watched them from behind the fence of Sam's yard. They chuckled and shook their heads, pleased with their friend.

"Pudge...look at that, would ya'." Stucky said, nudging him.

Pudge smiled. "They look warmer than we are."

Stucky laughed and shook his head. "Well if that's what it takes for us two to get warm, I'd rather not." he told him. He noticed Sam coming up the drive and he gasped, ducking down. "Oh shit, man, get down. Trouble's on its way."

The two boys ducked down and decided to avoid the explosion that was likely to happen. While Barricade enjoyed lying there with Mikaela, he sensed something and his red optics flashed. With a faint growling sound, he gently shook her.

"What?" Mikaela said, worried.

"Someone's watching us. Get out and I'll investigate." Barricade whispered.

Mikaela did just that and stayed at the Cruiser's side while he transformed and rounded the house with a bellowing roar. The second he saw Sam, his features tensed with fury. "Little worm!" he raged, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Sam trembled with terror and made an effort to sound calm. "If I call the Autobots they will be here in ten minutes." he stammered.

Barricade seemed to draw conclusions as to why Sam was spying on them and his growl deepened. He raised a tight, clenched fist. "Good. Then that gives me nine to beat the living mush out of you." he spat. "How dare you spy on us!"

Sam bit his lip and glanced at Mikaela, who had an expression that said "Yeah, explain that". She was not a big fan of that, obviously. "I-I just..." he began. He rushed at Mikaela's side and looked at her desperately. "Mikaela...please tell me you really aren't with this guy..."

Mikaela blinked, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. "Sam, you've gotten a little possessive lately, and that's a quality of Trent's I really wasn't a fan of." She didn't mean it in a bad way, but it seemed to hurt Sam more than she planned.

"I am not like him!" he protested, in a high-pitched voice, "I just think that this whole thing is crazy! You...him...THINK ABOUT IT! IT'S NUTS!"

Barricade opened his mouth to speak, but Mikaela held up a hand. "Barricade, I'll handle this." she said, gently. She turned to Sam and stared at him, pained. "Look, I'm sorry that you think this is strange or something. But I really don't..."

Sam shook his head, interrupting her. "Look, I was just freaking out because Pudge and Stucky-"

"_That _explains it." Mikaela muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Mikaela, this just doesn't seem right!" Sam continued, dropping his voice to a whisper and cautiously glancing up at the Cruiser. "He's...I-I mean...It's not natural! It's sick!"

Mikaela rubbed her forehead. She was still a bit upset with what was going on and he wasn't helping her. "Sam, look, can we just not talk about what's best for me right now." she said, irritated and a little tired, "I have work tomorrow and I really don't need this right now, okay?" She turned and Barricade transformed, pulling into the drive and behind the house, leaving Sam to stand there in stunned silence.

He glanced down and walked slowly toward his house, feeling like horse shit at the moment.

Mikaela slid under the covers of her bed and sighed heavily. She looked over and noticed that Barricade was parked just outside her doors and she thought about just what she had gotten into. Now what? Sam knew the truth and he'd probably tell the others, making her seem like less of a friend.

Deciding not to worry about it too much, Mikaela curled up and shut her eyes.

O

_Note_-Wow, I am sorry it took longer than it should have to update. I've been sick for a bit. The very unfortunate downside to Winter's harsh beauty. I am in the middle of recovering, so I wanted to get updating.


	13. Shifting Sides

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Eleven: Shifting Sides**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Sam's House_

Mikaela had a nightmare that night.

She saw herself running through Tranquility's dark streets, barely illuminated, panting and bleeding. Lurking in the shadows was a set of red, glowing eyes. The shadows seemed to change into a wolf-like form, rushing after her through shadow to shadow, like a Dolphin diving out of the water.

Mikaela tried to scream, but it felt as if no sound would come out of her. She saw Barricade in the distance, but he did not seem to hear or even see her. He was looking over his shoulder, hesitantly, staring at something. But when he noticed her, it was too late. The creature jumped through the air and pounced onto her, claws tearing into-

Mikaela awoke from the dream with a sharp cry. She looked around the basement with a soft gasping sound. Her neck and face were slick with sweat from the horrible nightmare. Mikaela heaved a deep, trembling sigh and looked across the room to a clock hanging on the wall. It read 5:00 A.M. Three hours before she had to be at work. Oh well. She decided to get up anyway. Lack of good sleep would slow her down at work, but what did it matter anyway? There was no way Mikaela was getting back to sleep after that dream.

"Great..." she muttered, sliding out of the bed and onto her feet.

Barricade must have still been asleep because his engine was practically purring quietly outside. Mikaela knew that he barely slept at all during the rough times that he had been on Earth, so it was good to see him so relaxed.

If only she could feel the same way.

With the so-called Beast Shifters after her, there was no telling when they'd pop up. And she had to be on her feet constantly.

Speaking of feet, Mikaela's had hurt as she started up the basement steps. After a drink of something, she'd go and talk to Barricade. Talking to him seemed to help. She felt safe with him since he had made every attempt to protect her and even-erm-ravished her.

Just as Mikaela walked into the dark kitchen, something brushed against her leg and she yelped out in fright, jumping up and stumbling into a chair in the process. The soft pitting and patting of feet caused her to giggle softly and relax.

"Oh Mojo...you crazy dog..." she muttered, reaching down and contacting warm, trembling fur in the darkness. A wet tongue tickled across her hand.

"Mikaela, you can turn the light on."

Mikaela jolted upwards as the kitchen light suddenly flashed on. There stood Judy Witwicky, smiling sleepily and rubbing her eyes with one hand. Obviously, her yelp had awoken Sam's mother, but she didn't seem deterred about it.

"Oh, sorry for waking you," Mikaela said, "I couldn't get back to sleep."

Judy just smiled and walked over to a coffee pot. She took out a bag of ground coffee and began pouring it into a small paper cone. "Coffee sound okay?"

Mikaela sighed in relief and sat down on a stool in the center of the kitchen. "That sounds really great about now."

Judy nodded and went to work starting the coffee for them both. She sat down on a stool across from Mikaela. "So, is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked, smiling warmly, "I mean, now that there are no guys around?"

Mikaela couldn't help but chuckle a little, the exact same expression on her face when she first met the Witwicky parents. Sam's mother was so nice.

"I know that you must be feeling pretty bad after your dad's death. I figured if you need to vent, go ahead and do it with me." Judy offered.

Mikaela could only glance down. She said nothing. Talking about her father's death would only get her crying again. She felt her throat go tight and stared outside into the garage.

"I just don't know what to do...about my imminent death and all..." she muttered.

Judy chuckled, thinking she was joking. "You don't have to worry about that!" she said, "No monster's going to come near my house or I'll have to beat the crap out of them!"

Always so spunky. Mikaela was touched by Judy's defensiveness for her. "Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that." she replied.

The sound of footsteps drew both toward the doorway of the kitchen. It was Sam. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. Obviously, he did not really get the fact that he was in boxers and a T-shirt in front of two very important women of his life.

"Sam, sorry," Judy murmured, chuckling, "Did we wake you up?"

Sam blinked sleepily until he realized the situation that he was in. With a soft gasp, he blushed and tried to cover himself. "Sorry."

Mikaela just shook her head. "It's okay, Sam. You seen one, you seen 'em all." she joked.

Judy got up and walked over to the coffee pot. "Well, I'll leave you kids alone for a bit." she told them, mischief in her words, "I'll just grab some coffee and hit the computer until Ron gets up." She rolled her eyes as she poured some coffee into a cup. "That man never gets up at a decent hour."

Mikaela watched as Judy walked off and turned to Sam. "So, what's up?"

Sam sat down across from her. "Mikaela, we really need to talk." he said, gently. He shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

"Alright."

Outside, Barricade could hear the conversation easy with the use of his radio equipment. He chuckled softly as he heard Mikaela talking about him to Sam. Talking at his defense, of course. Maybe if she did that with all of the Autobots, it would get their paranoid aft's off of his for a while.

"Look, Sam, maybe you and Barricade should try and get on good terms with each other," Mikaela offered, "I mean, after all he's been through-"

"He tried to kill me!" Sam interrupted.

Barricade heard Mikaela sigh deeply. "And don't you think he tried to do the same to me?" she replied, calmly, "Look, what he's done he was doing because that jerk Starscream told him to. Honestly, he's told me himself how much of a pain in the ass that guy is."

"And Megatron was any better?" Sam countered.

"Sam, that's not fair," Mikalea said, frowning, "The guy's turned a new leaf; why can you just give him a chance to prove that? He's been there to help me. To say the least, he deserves _that _much."

Outside, Barricade was smirking with pride at her words. But what surprised him was the next words from the boy.

"Okay. I'll do it for you, Mikaela." Sam had said. There was a bare hint of sadness in his tone, but one that was only caught on by Barricade. Of course, the boy had probably gone beyond jealousy to sadness now. Oh well. Not that it bothered him in the slightest.

But then, a strange rattling sound in the shadows did. Barricade could see three odd shapes moving slowly... carefully...

It was them. It was the Beast Shifters.

O

The sound of a cannon going off startled Mikaela and Sam. It even did much to awaken Ron and startle Judy from her spot in the computer room. The four rushed outside and spotted Barricade in robot mode, cannon leveled at the three Beast Shifters.

"You are fools to face me." Barricade growled, "For even though I am not one to underestimate an opponent, your small sizes pose no threat to me."

Shredder snickered softly. "What makes you think there is only us?" he sneered.

The sound of jet engines roaring caused Barricade's optics to widen and his circuits to freeze into ice. A familiar silver shape streaked through the sky and transformed into his so-called new leader. Starscream did not look happy in the least.

"Barricade!" he growled.

The Cruiser lowered his weapon with a brief rattling chirp that did not sound very friendly. "Starscream." he murmured.

"That's Lord Starscream, you traitorous worm!" Starscream snarled, pointing a clawed finger at Barricade. His optics landed on Mikaela and the other humans with a disgusted snort. "And look at that, your little toy is here as well."

Barricade's jaw almost dropped. "How did you-" Shredder perched himself onto Starscream's shoulder and a small video camera zeroed outward from his left optic. He snickered dryly and Barricade felt sick to his spark. He shook his head in disbelief. The Beast Shifters had been there the entire time! "You were recording me? How could you!"

"How could _you_?" Starscream countered, sickened by the sight, "I have never seen anything so disgusting in my entire life!"

Barricade bared his teeth with a hiss. "That matters not. What matters now is that Megatron is dead and you are not the true Decepticon leader, Starscream." he growled.

The angry look on the Seeker's face fell into an almost nonchalant and irritated one. "What did you say?" he snapped.

"You are not the leader Megatron was." Barricade challenged, "And I will not follow you. I follow only Megatron. And since he is dead, I follow no one else." Suddenly, before Barricade could react, Starscream struck like a rattlesnake, smashing his fist into the Cruiser's jaw.

"I AM TEN TIMES THE LEADER MEGATRON WAS!" he shouted.

Barricade stumbled backwards onto the concrete and Mikaela cried out in terror for him. Starscream loomed over Barricade and snapped his fingers. "Get the humans. I have a traitor to deal with." he said, coldly.

And suddenly, three more jets flew into the fray. Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Dirge.

The Beast Shifters pursued the humans throughout backyard after backyard. Ron stumbled into his shed and quickly grabbed a rake as a viable weapon. He spun around at the sight of Lacerator standing there, giggling and claws raised.

"Oh yeah?" Ron snapped, waving his rake, "What are you packing there, tiny?"

Lacerator snickered dryly. "I'm packing you, meatbag." he sneered, swinging his claws and slashing Ron across the leg.

Ron cried out and went down, flat on his ass with a muted thump. Lacerator loomed over him and a rattling snarl escaped his processor. Just as he raised his foot, two strange sounds filled the air and the Transformer looked up, irritated.

Stucky and Pudge both were dressed in their Texas Chainsaw Massacre outfits and Stucky waved a chainsaw in his face. Truthfully, this was a real one. Lacerator looked almost annoyed and snarled at the two.

"Yeah, come and get it!" Stucky hollered, "Us two boneheads are stickin' ya' up!"

Lacerator shrieked at them and the two dove for the Beast Shifter, tackling him to the ground. Stucky went to work hacking the robot into pieces and Ron watched, shocked. As both boys rose, Lacerator moaned softly and was still.

"You okay, Witwicky?" Pudge asked, helping Ron stand.

"I'll live." Ron murmured, climbing to his feet.

Stucky walked up and held up Wallow's hand. "Dude, souvenir?"

Pudge grinned and nodded. "Dude!" he agreed.

Suddenly, Lacerator's hand immediately came alive and swiped at Stucky, who cried out and tossed the hand through the air.

Meanwhile, Barricade was taking several punches and kicks from Starscream's massive feet and fists. He toppled about, but refused to give in and let Starscream think he was the weaker party here. But he was not.

"You know, I have asked, time and time again, Barricade. What the slag have you been up to?" he hissed, "And now, I have my answer. We have a traitor in our midst." He bent over Barricade. "Now, how do we flush a traitor from our ranks? I don't know, but at the count of three...I will find out who is on my team and who is not." He grabbed Barricade by the head and lifted his cannon directly at his face. "That would be one, two-"

Another voice piped up. "THREE!"

Starscream looked back with a soft gasp and was hit by a fist. He stumbled back, releasing Barricade only to realize who had hit him. Ironhide. The Autobots had come.

Ironhide glanced down at Barricade. "You okay?" he said.

Barricade was surprised by Ironhide's kindness, but did not let it show. Instead, he panted heavily. "I'll let you know in a minute."

Mikaela, meanwhile, struggled to reach Barricade's position, but her running caught the attention of Wallow, who was perched over top of a car. She glared at him with furious hatred, seeing the image of her tattered father in her head.

"You killed my father, you son-of-a-bitch!" she shouted.

Wallow snickered dryly at her. Finally, he roared and dove down, transforming and grabbing Mikaela tightly by the throat. She gagged and was forced off of her feet to look into those dark, cold ruby optics.

"Let me go..." she groaned, kicking his stomach. Pain shot through her legs as she realized that kicking him might have resulted in breaking her own toes.

Wallow scowled at her and raised his other hand. He slashed her chest, arms, and legs with his claws in one swift move. Blood went flying all over and Mikaela was barely aware of the blood through her haze of pain and crushed windpipe.

Wallow prepared to finish her, but he suddenly stiffened and looked down, jaw dropped. Barricade's claws had pierced clear through his small, frail body. Bright blue fluid splattered all over the concrete and spilled into Mikaela's blood, mixing it in a horrid color. He dropped Mikaela and she fell to the ground in a pained heap and she could barely hear the sounds of battle as they faded into a deep, whirring hum.

The Autobots watched as the jets flew off, wounded before they could finish them. Barricade cradled the unconscious Mikaela gently in one hand. Ratchet did not look too thrilled about now. He knew that Barricade endangered Mikaela.

"That's it!" he snapped, "You nearly got her killed!"

Optimus sighed. "Ratchet..." he began.

"Not now. I'm in the middle of yelling." the Medic snapped. He faced the Cruiser. "You cannot allow this to continue! Starscream knows that you harbor affections for her and now..." He trailed off and glowered down at the gaping Pudge and Stucky.

"It's like Christmas at Michael Bay's house..." Pudge gushed.

Ironhide frowned skeptically down at the two boys. "I think somebody blew your pilot lights out..." he muttered. The two boys giggled and he snorted, shaking his head with pity.

Barricade glanced down at Mikaela, sadness in his red optics. "What do we do, then?"

Ratchet said, nothing, but Barricade could tell that what the Medic was thinking could not be good at all.

O

_Note_-Yeah, since Sam's dad was the very same actor in Small Soldiers, I just had to do this scene in reference. In case of those who did not catch it, at least. And Pudge's line about Michael Bay...ugh...I know, awful...


	14. A Final Decision

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Twelve: A Final Decision**

_Tranquility, Nevada_

_Sam's House_

Mikaela awoke and felt nothing but pain all over. Her world remained dizzy and spun slightly. She felt like she'd been trampled by elephants, cut up with thousands of knives, and chewed up. And glancing down, she noticed her arms had been bandaged, leg wrapped up and forehead covered with a bandage.

"Hm, good to see you awake."

Mikaela glanced over at the double doors and noticed Barricade crouched there and watching her with a relieved smile. She was so happy to see him, she tried to get out of bed, but it hurt too much to move. Barricade raised a hand.

"Do not move, Mikaela," he advised, "Your body has been severely damaged by those Beast Shifters, Sam and his parents called a doctor and they fixed you up here while you slept."

Mikaela laid back with a heavy sigh. "Did you stop Starscream?"

"The Beast Shifter Shredder was taken into custody. And Starscream escaped." Barricade replied. His optics seemed reluctant, filled with a hint of sadness to them. Mikaela didn't like that at all. Something about it... "Mikaela, I-I realize I may not have been the most affectionate..."

Mikaela propped herself on her arms and smiled at him. "It's okay. You're different, 'Cade." she told him. "It's one of the things that I like that about you."

Primus, she had given him a nickname. That made his spark clench. "But I've seen the way others express themselves to their people, and..." He hesitated. "I want you to know, I do like you. I'm just not used to all the customs here."

Mikaela chuckled. "'Cade, don't worry." she assured him, "It's alright."

Barricade didn't seem so sure. He rumbled softly and pried the doors open gently with a single claw. "Mikaela, Starscream plans on returning shortly." he said, softly. "And he will come after you because of my foolishness." He sighed deeply. "I have to go with the Autobots into space." Mikaela obviously did not get it and he inhaled deeply. "I have to go alone."

The smile melted from Mikaela's face and was replaced with a slightly-parted grimace of horror. "You're gonna leave?"

"I'm sorry. But I have to do what I must." Barricade said, softly, "You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here."

Mikaela struggled out of the bed, to catch him before he left. "What if I already feel safe with you here?" she protested, "What if I won't feel safe when you go?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Mikaela." Barricade told her, gently. The whole thing was hurting him more than she believed. To have to abandon the one who showed him everything, who showed him love; was more painful than the blows he had received from Starscream.

Outside, the Autobots were standing there watching, pity on their features. Mikaela grunted in agony and struggled out of the bed. Barricade's optics widened as he watched her stagger stiffly toward him. Now she was being crazy.

"I don't want you to go, Barricade." Mikaela protested, collapsing against his face.

Barricade looked at her sternly, but voice trembling. "Get back in bed, Mikaela." he ordered.

Mikaela spoke through gritted teeth and tightened lips. The cold was not helping her wounds at all. "No. Not without you!" she protested. She didn't even care that the others were standing right there. Even Ironhide clenched his jaw at the emotion he saw between them. He could not bring himself to criticize Barricade now. Especially not since Mikaela was feeling the way she was.

"Don't worry, Barricade and the rest of us will be able to get to Mars without trouble." Ironhide told her with a reassuring smile that seemed false.

Barricade smiled reassuringly at the frantic woman. "See? I'll be alright."

"But I won't." Mikaela moaned, holding onto him tightly.

Barricade started to push her away. "You will." he told her, "You'll have to." He rose to his feet and looked up at Optimus. "Let's go."

Mikaela struggled to walk, but her body just hurt so badly. She watched the Autobots transform into their vehicle forms. Barricade immediately followed suit. Finally, they drove off into the dark streets and Mikaela moaned in anguish.

"Barricade, come back!" she shouted, desperately.

Barricade drove away beside Ironhide, the pain in her call doing nothing to soothe him to his task. He made every attempt to ignore it.

"You're a good liar." Ironhide told the Cruiser. Whether the words were of malice or pity, it was hard to tell.

"Almost as good as you." Barricade replied, lowly.

O

While the Autobots and Barricade entered the small ship, Barricade took a quick glance back to Tranquility, to the little human girl who would no doubt be suffering emotional wounds because of him. He sighed deeply and entered the ship.

Mikaela just continued to cry in the street, hands covering her face. Pudge and Stucky gently moved to her side and put their hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, c'mon, 'Kaela..." Stucky said, quietly, "Come home with us for a bit."

Mikaela nodded her head and struggled to walk, but could make no effort to do so. Stucky and Pudge smiled and hooked her arms around their shoulders, assisting her with walking. They both smiled at her and attempted to joke.

"There. Kinda makes you lucky you got us goofs, huh?" Pudge joked.

Mikaela managed to sputter weak laughter through her tears; and she let them assist her in walking as they made their way down the dark streets alone and toward the brother's house.

The house was the very scene of a psychotic pack rat. Objects and random junk had been strewn all over the yard and porch. The house was small and in need of repairs. Small ornamental objects dangled from the roof and doors. But this was something Mikaela was used to. Pudge and Stucky lived the hard life, just like she did. Only they chose to live in a fantasy world to get by.

Pudge and Stucky's grandmother brushed on by them as they walked into the basement. She grumbled something under her breath.

While Mikaela sat down in a tattered chair, Pudge and Stucky went right to work looking for stuff to make her comfortable and happy. Their almost sloppy and rather frantic motions made Mikaela smile gently. They were trying so hard.

"Okay, we got...TV." Pudge said, gesturing to the flat screen by the wall. He grumbled and looked around for the remote. "Dude, where's the remote?" Going down on his hands and knees, he began his search for it and crawled under the couch, calling after his brother. "DUDE! WHERE'S THE REMOTE, MAN?"

Stucky was in the basement bathroom. "Dunno, dude!" he said, "I saw it last when we watched that 24 hour marathon of Baywatch!"

Mikaela sputtered with laughter, despite her still tears. "You guys watched an entire 24 hour marathon of Baywatch?"

"Dude. For the chicks, man." Pudge said, which was muffled below. "Don't care about the words."

Stucky poked his head out of the bathroom and grinned. "Well, I got the stash!" he said. He was carrying a small case and Mikaela sighed, shaking her head.

"Guys, I don't...I really don't do that kind of stuff, you know."

Stucky sat down on a chair beside her and laughed. "Mikaela, this ain't illegal drugs we're giving you here." he assured her, "These are sleeping aids and mood elevators."

Pudge suddenly thrust his hand up from behind the couch and it was clutching a remote. "I got it!"

Stucky put the box of pills down and grinned at his friend. "Hey, I'll hurry and get us some food." he said, "Be right back!"

When Stucky returned, he had brought some sandwiches their grandmother had made and Pudge had turned on the TV. They watched Mikaela intently as she gingerly ate one of the small sandwiches. Her gaze moved from one to the next as she chewed. They both watched her with worry and she finally swallowed, a calm and happy smile on her face.

"Thanks, guys." she said.

The two grinned happily. "Dude, told you she'd dig it, man!" Pudge said, slapping his brother a high five.

Suddenly, their grandmother's voice shouted down from above and a banging sound was heard. "Boys! Turn down those cartoons!" she shouted.

Pudge and Stucky looked annoyed. "Alright, _grandma_!" they shouted back.

Mikaela could not help her laughter.

_Mars_

Optimus and the others had begun their search on planet Mars. Barricade was lagging behind somewhat, watching Earth with a dim expression. Finally, he realized his mission was important right now. Mikaela was safe, there was no reason to be distracted.

"Hey, Decepticon!" Ironhide called back to him, "Up front where we can see you!"

Oddly enough, Barricade did not argue. He moved quickly up front beside Ironhide and a snort escaped him. "So, you still do not trust me, do you?" he murmured. "And what I have gone through to prove my worth to your grubby mundane creed?"

Ironhide scoffed. "Your still a Decepticon to me," he snapped, glaring down at the smaller mech, "As far as I am concerned, you always betray everyone in time."

Barricade stopped while the rest continued on. Bumblebee caught the shimmering gaze of fury in the Cruiser's optics and reached out to stop him from doing something he would regret. "Barricade? Barricade, now...don't." he advised, "It's not a good idea."

With a rough snort, Barricade shoved Bumblebee's hand from his shoulder and before he could say anything more, he glanced up with a gasp of horror.

Starscream. Starscream was heading right for them!

The group drew out their weapons as Starscream transformed in midair and hovered there, grinning his cold grin. "You Autobots are quite the foolish batch of warriors that I have ever seen." he murmured. He pretended to think. "Why, I bet the plan was to come and get me so that I'd probably forget all about your little human pets, wasn't it?"

Barricade's optics grew wide in horror and Thundercracker passed over their heads, toward Earth. Oh no! He had sentenced his human to danger! He glanced back and the Seeker Lord rumbled darkly at him.

"You destroyed a fellow Decepticon for the sake of your pet!" he spat. "And now you will owe me the life of a servant!"

Optimus raised his hand cannon and opened fire at the Seeker. Starscream was far too fast and eluded easily with a cold laugh.

_Meanwhile_

Mikaela at the two boys were still wide awake down in the basement. Stucky and Pudge pressed her to talk about what had happened.

"Come on, man. Talk to us." Pudge pressed, "We're your pals."

Mikaela took a deep breath. "He said I would be much safer here instead of with him." she said, sadly.

The two looked surprised. "Harsh, bro." Stucky murmured, shaking his head. "Harsh."

Pudge grinned up at him. "Hey, maybe he scared of commitment." he joked.

Mikaela sputtered a laugh and the two joined in. "See, you don't need him to have a good time." Stucky told her. He raised his brows. "Besides, I do know what you need to have a great time." He held up his box of stash. "Valium!"

Meanwhile, the sudden loud sounds of jet engines filled the air. The sounds were followed by heavy gusts of winds that shredded trees and vehicles alike. The sound eventually reached Mikaela and she jolted upward with a gasp.

"Did you guys here that?" she exclaimed.

Stucky and Pudge got up out of their spots and frowned. "Dude, you think its' buyers, man?" Pudge asked, "You know how nasty they get on Sundays."

Mikaela got up with them and staggered after them. "Guys, maybe going out's not such a good idea." she advised.

Stucky and Pudge just laughed at this. "Ahh, c'mon, Mikaela." Stucky told her, with a grin, "What's the worse that can happen?"

A heavy groan-like the sound of buckling wood-filled the air. Mikaela lifted her head with a faint gasp. It took her a moment to realize that the moan was not human, but the sound of the wood breaking around them. Suddenly, the entire house itself split with a sickening cracking sound. Stucky and Pudge cried out in terror and they huddled beside Mikaela.

The top of the house disappeared from view and Thundercracker leered inside at them. Pudge gasped and kept his eyes on the blue jet. " Yo, grandma! You are gonna miss this shit!" he cried, "The big guy's smashin' the shit outta the house!"

Thundercracker held up a small, glass container and seized the three humans in his clawed hand. They cried out and were tossed abruptly into the container, which sealed automatically. Fresh oxygen filled the case and Thundercracker attached it to his back and blasted away.

The grandmother walked out of the bathroom and scowled. "What the hell are you two boys doing and-" Her eyes grew wide in shock when she noticed the mess of the house. "WHAT THE HELL?"

_Mars_

The Autobots received no mercy from the unlimited number of Decepticon drones. After the battle, they were tossed into the Nemesis' brig, Barricade included. The mechs were horribly damaged and were barely able to move.

Barricade was saying nothing, though; too worried for Mikaela.

"What are we gonna do?" Ratchet murmured, "I mean, what do you think they'll do to Mikaela?"

Thundercracker was passing just overhead, carrying the container that housed the humans and with Sam as the new addition. Pudge and Stucky were talking a hundred miles an hour to Thundercracker as he walked into the ship.

"So, tell me, giant robot dude," Stucky said, "What are ya' gonna do to us, huh? Are ya' gonna do the anal probe thing? Oh! Oh! What about the mass cattle slaughter fest? I hope you do that one! Do it because that would be so awesome to watch!"

Thundercracker scowled down at them in frustration. "Don't you ever shut up?" he moaned, covering the left side of his head.

"Do you know that we need air in this ship cuz we'd probably pop like zits?" Pudge added, grinning, "That'd be so awesome!" He paused when he thought about that and knotted his brow sheepishly, realizing what he said. "Wait, not really..."

Thundercracker glared over at a grinning Skywarp. "Get me a gag! Some knockout gas! A big soundproof cage!" he snapped, "Anything!"

Starscream walked up to him and chuckled softly. "What's wrong, Thundercracker?" he sneered, "Cannot handle a batch of humans?"

"They haven't shut up since I left Earth!" Thundercracker protested.

Pudge and Stucky grinned broadly at each other. Then, Mikaela grimaced as Pudge began to pick his nose. "Pudge, could you do me a favor and not pick your nose in front of me?" she muttered, sickened, "That's really disgusting."

Starscream glared down at them. "Humans! Keep quiet right now!"

Pudge and Stucky looked up at him. "Why?" Stucky said.

"Because I ordered you to!" Starscream snapped.

"Why?"

"Because I am in charge here!"

"Why?"

"Because I am superior!"

"Why?"

Starscream's optics flared red with fury. "_Because I will dissect your disgusting human entrails if you do not shut your trap_!" he bellowed.

Stucky went pale with fear for a moment. Finally he added in a quiet voice. "You got it, bro..."

"Take these fools and dump them in the brigs with the rest of their Autobot friends." Starscream ordered. "But bring the Sam human and Mikaela human with me." He smirked darkly down at them both. "We have much to discuss."

Thundercracker nodded.

Stucky and Pudge packed around anxiously. Stucky studied the bars with a smile.

"Jail cell design hasn't changed much, even in all these passing centuries, has it?" he said, "Maybe it's time they brought in the laser bars, or something. I mean, still the same."

Pudge flashed a grin, hanging upside down from one of the bars. "Oh, they can make a hard plastic cage like Magneto's in X-Men 2!"

Ironhide chuckled slightly. The humor of both the boys seemed to affect him a little in a good way. "Come on let's keep it in the real world, alright?" he told them, "But you know what wouldn't be a bad idea? Pure Energon metal." He glanced down at Barricade. "What do you think?"

Barricade looked up at him with a flare of his optics. "Know what I think?" he raged, "I think I'm going to fragging kill you!" He snarled and made a dive for the Autobot. He grabbed his throat, slamming him harshly into the wall behind him.

Pudge grinned at the others. "What up, steel cage match!" he shouted, laughing.

If Ironhide had not been surprised, he could have easily defended against the move. He glared down at Barricade in protest. "What the slag's your problem?" he demanded, "Attacking me won't help right now!"

"Why did you persuade me leaving was the best thing for us?" Barricade spat. "If it wasn't for your goody-goody Autobot creed, I would still have Mikaela safe and sound on Earth! It's your fault, dammit!"

"She would not have been safe with you!" Ironhide barked.

"_You didn't know that_!"

Optimus pulled Barricade from the Weapon's Specialist and Barricade struggled only the slightest. Obviously, now was not the time to be getting into any fights. "Barricade, calm down." he advised, "This isn't getting us out of here!"

Ironhide scowled at him and shook himself. "Primus..." he snapped.

"We would have been fine..." Barricade hissed, glowering at Ironhide with hate. "I could have protected her. I could have if I was given the chance. But all you wanted to do was make sure I had nothing. Well, other than the human, I will always have nothing!"

"No, I was just..." Ironhide began.

"For an Autobot, you are a slagging good liar." Barricade said, coldly, "I mean, who knows? If we get out of here, maybe there's a spot in the Decepticon cause for someone like you." And with that, he went to the far side of the prison and sat alone.

Pudge and Stucky tapped their chins thoughtfully. Finally, Stucky came up with an idea and grinned, whispering into his brother's ear. Pudge's grin grew wide and he nodded in accord.

"Alright, guys, we got an idea!" Pudge announced, "A good one!"

Optimus stood at attention. "Really?" he said.

Stucky held out his chest in pride. "Well, I'm dead skinny!" he said, "I can slip underneath these bars and unlock the cell. Pudge and I will distract the big guys while you save Mikaela and Sam."

The Autobots looked a little surprised. "Are you sure that will work?" Ratchet asked.

Pudge and Stucky grinned. "Hey, man, come on now," Pudge told him, starting to count on his fingers, "We've been put in jail 12 times, escaped 14 different handcuff maneuvers and dodges 20 police chases! I think we can handle it!"

Optimus smiled faintly and stood up. He glanced over at Barricade, who didn't seem very convinced about the plan.

"It'll work." he assured the Cruiser, "We'll save Sam and Mikaela."

"Right..." Barricade murmured. But he had to doubt how well this plan would work.

O

_Note_-Took long again, sorry. Holidays have me distracted now.


	15. Distract and Rescue

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer:** Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman. Sorry about the odd title, but it will make sense as the fic progresses.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Chapter Thirteen: Distract and Rescue**

_Mars_

_Nemesis_

Mikaela and Sam both sat in the darkened room, frightened beyond belief. They had no idea how they'd get out of there. And even worse, Starscream was probably going to do something horrible to them. The idea of waiting for imminent doom nearly made them crazy.

"What are we going to do?" Sam moaned, "We're dead. That's it. We're dead."

Mikaela winced and struggled to her feet. The pain wasn't as intense as before, but it still hurt a bit to move. "Sam, we just have to keep cool," she told him, despite her own fears, "We can't let him know how scared we are."

"Right." Sam murmured, not sounding too convincing.

Then, the door roared open and Sam yelped slightly, attempting to stifle it. Starscream moved slowly inside, watching them with those blood red optics flaring. He paced around them for a moment before crouching down to their level with a smirk.

"Well, here we are little creatures," he purred, "Time for a little...heart to heart..."

Sam looked up weakly. "What do you want from us?" he asked, watching the Seeker rise. "We didn't do anything to you."

Starscream turned with a chuckle. "Well I guess it wouldn't do no harm to tell you, let's see, now...ah yes," He tapped his chin thoughtfully, pretending to consider, "Well, I've brought you here to have a nice little chat with me."

"Then what?" Sam asked, worried.

"Well there ain't no what, that's the end of the road." Starscream replied.

Mikaela frowned. "What?" she began, stunned. She hesitated. "You're not gonna kill us, are you?"

Starscream smiled down at her. "You make it sound so permanent." he said.

Meanwhile, Pudge poked his head out from the bars, looking both ways carefully before he gestured to Stucky with a nod once. The slender boy acknowledged with a nod of his own and carefully slid himself underneath the bars. Unfortunately, his chest got stuck and he grunted sharply.

"Dude! Chest's stuck, man." he gasped, "Give me a hand."

Pudge smirked. "You got it, bro!" he said, drawing his leg back. He gave Stucky a kick to the shoulder, sending him flying out with a cry and into the wall. The Autobots gasped and stared at him with worry.

"Stucky! Are you alright?" Optimus asked.

Stucky winced and grinned painfully. "If by alright you mean me seeing two of ya' then yeah, I'm good." he replied. He climbed to his feet.

Ratchet pointed at a bright red button on the wall across from the cell. "See that red button over there?" he said, "You push that to get us out."

Stucky looked up at a small blue one. "This one?"

Ratchet growled a bit. "Is it red?" he muttered, getting irritated a little.

"No."

A painful smile touched the Medic's face. "Then it's not the one, is it?"

"Oh."

Ironhide couldn't resist a laugh and watched as Stucky continued gesturing to many of the buttons and Ratchet continuously saying "no" to each wrong one that he pointed to. He began to sound weary with the last few "no" words he said.

Barricade got annoyed now. "No, you slagging beast of burden!" he bellowed, "It's RED! Big and _RED_! Is that so difficult to notice?"

Stucky stared at him sadly. "No need to be hurtful, dude." he told him. He glanced up and noticed the bright red button out of his reach. With a growl, he ripped off his shoe and tossed it at the button. It flashed red once and the cell went down. The mechs and Pudge walked out with smiles of relief.

"Stucky, you did it, man!" Pudge cried, happily. He looked up. "Alright. Now let's get our asses moving because Operation: distract a bunch of robotic assholes is about to commence. Now, we just gotta synchronize our watches."

Stucky and Pudge glanced down at their own wrists and frowned, confused. "What time is it anyway?" Stucky asked.

"I dunno, anybody got a watch?" Pudge said, looking up.

While the Decepticons were talking together in the mess hall, Pudge and Stucky casually walked by, whistling a happy tune.

"Hey, Pudge, ready to rock?" Stucky said, loudly.

The Decepticons turned with angry hisses. "How the slag did you get out?" Thundercracker snapped. "Get back in your Primus-damned cage!"

The two flipped him off. "Betcha can't make us, tin man!" Pudge sneered.

Humorously enough, the boys were then running down the halls with Thundercracker barreling at their heels, snarling. His red optics flared with all his honor to rend and kill these little fools. "I'll get you!" he raged, "Come back here!"

"Run, man!" Pudge cried, to his brother.

Meanwhile, the mechs made their way toward Starscream's interrogation room, but were stopped by many drones.

"Slag!" Ironhide cursed. "I thought those boys had it under control!"

And sure enough, Pudge and Stucky appeared around the corner, sliding clumsily on the chrome floors. "Hey, come on and get us!" they shouted, "It's a running dinner fest, bitches!"

The drones looked to the left in unison and completely forgot about the mechs. They joined into the chase with Thundercracker, completely ignoring the others. The drones were beings of war, but they were not much on intellect.

Optimus drew a leg back and kicked the doors open, rushing inside the room with the others following.

Starscream spun around with a snarl of hatred. "Autobots!"

The entire situation was a blur. Shots rang out in all directions. Starscream was easily the toughest of all Decepticon kind. With a fierce kick, he connected with Bumblebee's midsection and sent the yellow mech hurtling backwards. While he was distracted, Barricade carefully scooped up the two humans in his claws.

"Barricade!" Mikaela gasped, never happier to see him than now.

Barricade grunted sharply and just as he turned, Starscream spun around and caught the sight of him just about to leave with his little toys. He snarled with fury and just as he charged for them, Optimus came diving at him, hands grasping his wings. The force was enough to restrain the Seeker, but not enough to hold him back completely. His claws ended up contacting Barricade's tire appendage on his shoulder and flipping him through the air. He held onto the humans for dear life as he went down.

The second he hit the ground, his claws opened, sending the two humans tumbling out of his grasp. Starscream panted and clawed his way toward Barricade.

"You're in the way, just like that foolish waste of machinery, Megatron!" he rasped. "Since you're dying to remain loyal to a dead leader," He grabbed Barricade's leg and dragged him closer. "let's just see if I can give you a hand!"

Barricade winced as Starscream's claws dug deep wounds into his hip. He met the Seeker's flaring red optics of hatred.

"Stop..." he growled.

Starscream snarled at him. "You had to come here flaring your chest like a big slagging Autobot hero. Now all you have is yourself to blame for this!" he spat, "Look at you now, hero, you're going to bleed to death and die here!"

"Think again!" Ironhide growled, grabbing Starscream by the wing and tossing him from the Cruiser. Starscream retaliated by slicing his wrist blades down the length of Ironhide's lower arm, ripping into the wiring and coolant tubes.

Barricade took the chance to drag himself toward the humans with several pained grunts. He began to wonder about his choices now. Why did she have to come here to him? Why did she have to exist? Why did she have to ruin the little peace and silence he had known in loneliness? Why did she make him feel so strange...?

O

Pudge and Stucky ran until they reached a dead end. The two gasped and glanced back at the sound of the mechs coming for them. They glanced at each other and got an idea. When Thundercracker and the drones turned the corner, they halted.

"Where are they?" Thundercracker snarled.

"Up there!" A drone shouted, pointing up toward the ceiling.

Pudge grinned down at them. "Did you miss me?" He ducked as a shower of laser fire sailed in his direction and laughed. "I guess not!"

Stucky was on one of the beams and struggled to push a heavy CPU down onto Thundercracker. Pudge just continued his taunting.

"Come on, Stucky..." the boy growled to himself.

Pudge grinned down at the robots as they locked and loaded their weapons. "Now, you have to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky'?" he hissed, in a dramatic voice.

Stucky grunted and heaved the CPU off of the beam and it fell directly on top of Thundercracker's head. He gasped weakly and went down. Stucky and Pudge climbed down the ceiling and slapped high fives. Stucky spoke in a fake mobster's accent directed at the blue jet.

"You were good, kid, real good...but as long as I'm around you'll be second-best." he joked.

Pudge laughed. "That was funny." he said.

The drones glowered up at them and aimed all of their cannons directly down at the boys with loud clicks. They paled slightly.

"That wasn't." Pudge finished in terror, just before they took off.

Meanwhile, Starscream gave chase to Barricade down the halls with the other Autobots on his tail. "I'll get you, you traitor!" he shrieked.

Barricade winced and turned to face the Seeker, sliding on his heels and raising his arm cannon. Before he could fire, Starscream's talons dug deep into his arm and he jerked it back, nearly tearing the limb off completely in the process.

Barricade refused to cry out in pain. Instead, he grunted sharply and was hurtled into the wall. He looked up to meet those blazing optics.

"You will kneel to your new leader, Barricade!" he shrieked.

Barricade just looked away from him. "You are no leader, Starscream." He felt claws tighten around his jaw and his head jerked to look back into that heated gaze. "Megatron was the only leader of the Decepticons, and now that he is gone, there is no Decepticon army."

Starscream clenched his teeth and snarled furiously. "Since you have only loyalty for Megatron, you will now join him!" he raged, drawing his fist back and driving a blow clean through Barricade's chest, inches from his Spark chamber.

The sound of his roar of agony reached the hallway nearby. Mikaela cried out in terror.

"Barricade!" she shouted.

As the group turned the corner, Barricade had hit the floor in a puddle of blue liquid and Starscream turned to them with a snarl. "One traitor down, several Autobots to go!"

In the midst of the fight, Mikaela and Sam rushed to Barricade's side and he grunted weakly, blue fluid spurting from his mouth. "Mi-Mikaela..." he groaned.

"Hang on, Barricade!" Mikaela begged. She looked back with desperation. "Ratchet!"

Starscream spun around in fury. "Stay away from him!" he bellowed. But Optimus' heavy hand at his throat stopped him. Starscream gasped once, and then smirked and activated his thrusters, sending himself and the Autobot leader down the halls, crashing and chipping armor and wall.

Ratchet bent down at Barricade's side and pressed a hand to his gushing chest. "He's losing fuel fast." he said, as calmly as he could. "We have to get him back to my medical bay and we must do so quickly. It's the only way to save his life."

Mikaela nodded anxiously and tearfully.

With the use of Thundercracker's device, the humans were transported with ease and Barricade was carried to the medical bay with the help of Ratchet and Bumblebee. His reddish optics seemed dazed and unfocused to everything around him.

Mikaela anxiously moved to try and help, even against Ratchet's protests. He sighed and gestured for her to slip some smaller clasps onto Barricade's chest wound.

"Keep these on him at all times. Hold that there." he instructed, "Use pressure."

Mikaela cleared her throat and her eyes shimmered as she made an effort to keep the tears at bay. "You'll be all right once we get you home." she said, quietly. "Once we get you home, you'll be all right. What you need is some rest."

The others watched her emotion and said nothing. Ratchet looked at her with pity and wanted to do all that he could.

"Keep your hands on his face." he said, gently, "Just...stay close to him."

Barricade's optics flickered in and out occasionally. Soft gurgling sounds echoed from him. He didn't seem to acknowledge anything around him and the touch of the human woman whom he barely felt all her love and desperation.

"Barricade...I'm here." Mikaela whispered, smiling sorrowfully. "You'll be okay." A loud clattering sound off to the side made her glance up. She noticed that Ratchet had hurried so much, he dropped several of his tools. He rushed over with a container of fuel and popped the end of it open with ease. He slid one hand beneath Barricade's head and lifted him up slightly. He pressed the edge to Barricade's mouth and coaxed him to take it. But ribbons of fuel trickled down the sides.

"Dammit, he's not taking it!" he groused.

Mikaela bit her lip as Ratchet struggled to get the fuel into Barricade another way; through a tube toward his chest.

"Come on, Barricade." Ratchet growled, "Come on!"

Ironhide mumbled a soft prayer under his breath. "Come on...Primus..." he whispered.

Mikaela watched the still form of Barricade and tears filled her eyes. She rested her head against his chest and began to cry softly. The others lowered their heads and shut their optics off. Pudge and Stucky looked at each other with sadness. Sam said nothing.

As Mikaela continued crying, she did not notice one of his spiked digits move slightly. And even more, she failed to notice as his left hand lifted and came to a rest against her back. She jumped slightly and looked back at it. Finally, she stared down at Barricade and grinned.

"Barricade!"

Barricade's optics flickered once or twice before brightening completely. His jaw flexed and he looked at her, seemingly squinting. "Mikaela?"

Mikaela petted the side of his face with a giggle of tears. "Yes. It's me."

Just then, Optimus came rushing into the room, breathless. He smiled when he noticed them and that everything was okay. Ratchet slowly walked over to him while the humans and Autobots rushed at Barricade's side. They were talking all at once.

"Prime. What happened to Starscream?" he asked.

"He escaped into space before I could end him." Optimus said, softly.

Ratchet kept his eyes on the happy scene playing out before them. He inhaled slightly. "Well, for now," he murmured, silently. "We won't see much out of him."

A soft crashing sound to the left and this drew the attention of all the Transformers inside the ship. Thundercracker came crashing out from inside a closet. He collapsed with a groan and panted heavily, looking around. His optics landed on Barricade.

"Barricade!" he gasped, "Look, you have to come back! If you don't Starscream's gonna-" A punch to the face from the Cruiser silenced him. He winced and smiled painfully, waving his hands out. "Fine, okay...well, I suppose...Okay, well, I know I actually deserved that."

Everyone started drawing their weapons and he smiled as best he could. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Barricade. Can we just talk for a second here?" he said, uneasily. "L-Look. I know Starscream's not the most reasonable of leaders. He's a fun guy, right? So maybe if you could put in a word with him, then he'd kinda blow this whole thing off, you know?"

Barricade gestured for the others to lower their weapons and they did, staring at him in surprise. He climbed off of the table and walked up to the blue jet, glancing up at him.

"You tell Starscream..." he began. He raised a fist. "His time will come."

Thundercracker sighed deeply and backed up as the Autobots advanced. "You're making a mistake, you know." he said, weakly, "You made no mistake getting rid of Aur-"

"Go now!" Barricade thundered with fury.

Thundercracker took that chance and bailed out of the ship before the Autobots could try and catch him. They watched him go, passing overhead and outside the reddish atmosphere of Mars. Finally, he was disappearing into space.

"You know they'll be back." Ironhide said.

Barricade nodded. "I know." he replied. He took a deep breath. "But for now, let's just return to Earth." He turned and noticed Mikaela standing there. With a grunt, he knelt down to her and held a hand to his chest.

"Barricade...what was Thundercracker going to say?" Mikaela asked. As if she had to even ask such a thing.

Barricade blinked. "It's not important."

Mikaela placed a hand against his knee and smiled. "Yes it is." she assured him, "As your friends now, you have to learn to trust us."

Barricade inhaled sharply and glanced upwards. Finally, he told her. He told her the entire story of who that painter on Cybertron had been. Aurora. A very young and very pleasant Transformer female. She was too young according to some. But Barricade had never really cared. He explained to Mikaela what had fascinated him about her. She had this wonderful child-like logic that all things could live in peace. That he could live his own life how he wanted.

Then again, he also told her about how he lost Aurora to Megatron. Megatron had told him how Aurora was corrupting his judgement and how every weak element in his life had to be extinguished in order for him to achieve his destiny.

And it was then that Barricade finished it off with telling her how Megatron destroyed Aurora with his own two hands. And for that moment, Barricade felt better than he ever had in his entire life. His aged, darkened Spark would heal in time, but this was a great start to that process.


	16. Epilogue

**Honey and Blood**

**Disclaimer: **Alas, another idea with Barricade! Only this time, it has pairings from the film. I decided I liked the idea of Mikaela and Barricade and wanted to try it out. I may use quotes from the movie, so if you see them, I do not own them. I thought it best to do that as a means of establishing the film's chronological order, just as I had done with In Too Deep. This little fic was inspired by the art of "down boy" by prisonsuit-rabbitman.

_"The honey in the flower or lotus does not crave for bees; they do not plead with the bees to come. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they themselves search for the flowers and rush in. They come because of the attachment between themselves and sweetness. So, too, is the relationship between the woman who knows the limits and the respect she evokes."_

-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

_"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."_

-Henry David Thoreau

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"Autobots, foul Autobots, here we come. Let our long war resume-and let it end here."_

—Barricade, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

**Epilogue**

_Tranquility_

_Banes Scrap and Repair_

_Five Months Later_

The Banes family shop had been fully repaired by Stucky, Pudge, Sam and the rest of Mikaela's friends. She now had the courage to reopen it and take her father's place. A sign outside read not exactly what Mikaela had in mind.

"All customers welcome!" and in parentheses it read "Except homos and Jews". Another statement in parentheses. "And strippers get half off". She rolled her eyes and glanced back at Stucky and Pudge, who wore bright, goofy 80's clothes.

"Okay, I can tell you right now this sign ain't staying up." Mikaela snapped.

Pudge and Stucky flashed her broad grins and shrugged. They did not see Trent walking up behind them until they turned around. He was mildly bandaged up now and still seemed a bit jittery around the house knowing Barricade was still around.

"M-Mikaela?" he said.

Mikaela turned and smiled, very fluid in her motions. She didn't seem at all deterred by the sight of the football player there. "Well hi there, Trent," she answered, pleasantly, "Nice to uh...see you I guess. What do you need from me?"

Trent bit his lip, struggling not to lose his temper right there in front of her where he could get attacked again. He glanced at the two boys and managed a mocking grin at their outfits. "Nice outfits." he said, "Were'd you get 'em?"

Stucky grinned and pretended to think. "Off some whore. I think it was your mother." he joked, laughing. He slapped Pudge a high five and the shorter twin joined him in laughter.

Trent pursed his lips tightly with anger. "So, then I guess you guys think you're really amazing now, don't ya'?" he snapped.

Pudge and Stucky continued to taunt the football player. "Haha, that's funny I didn't know am-a-zing had three syllables in it...that's just really ama-za-zaing." Pudge sneered, glancing at his twin brother in delight. He sniggered.

Trent tightened his lips with a growl, but immediately lost all bravado as he heard the shrill sirens of Barricade coming around the corner. With a groan, he quickly rushed off down the alleyway, out of sight before the robot could see him.

Barricade pulled up at Mikaela's side and she could not resist the laugh. "Do you always have to scare that guy?" she said.

Barricade chuckled softly. "Oh, no, my human." he murmured, "I have other bigger ones to irritate." He transformed and sighed deeply. "You informed me to ignore that brute Ironhide. However, I find it difficult to ignore someone when he's shouting nonsense."

"Oh nooo..." Stucky murmured, off the side.

Barricade glanced at him with annoyance.

"Oh, don't you spend all your free time worrying about him, Barricade." Mikaela said, laughing. "I guess he's still a little uptight in his smoke pipes about the idea of a Decepticon moving around freely in the Autobot ranks. He'll come around."

Barricade was quiet for a while. "How is Sam taking it?"

Mikaela bent down to pick up a case of beer and chuckled a bit. She knew that eventually Sam had grown fine with their odd relationship. So they had agreed to stay friends seeing since Barricade made her so happy. Sam was saddened by the idea, but he wanted to still see her all the time. And...secretly, she knew he was scared of the Decepticon.

"Well...we agreed to stay just friends. I told him if we can all just learn to get along and not be so dodgy around each other, it's good enough for me." she replied, "Besides, it'll work out much better that way, Barricade. Everyone's cool."

Barricade seemed to know what she was saying and sighed deeply. "You love me more than I deserve." he murmured, softly.

Mikaela put the case of beer down on her truck and flashed a grin as Stucky and Pudge snatched it up. Her cat decided to roost on the truck's hood and she laughed. "Pudge, Stucky...don't go and get hammered on me again." she advised, "I don't want to drag you back home like that Christmas party last year at Uncle Lou's house."

Pudge laughed and glanced down at Mikaela's cat, giving it a gentle pat. "Wow. Hey, I love cats. They taste like chicken."

"Get outta here, you two." Mikaela laughed, pushing Pudge aside.

They laughed and rushed off with the beer to leave Barricade and Mikaela alone. Barricade rumbled something under his breath and relaxed. "Perhaps we should leave this little place and go for a ride." he suggested.

Mikaela flashed a smile. "Alright."

The two drove off into the town and Barricade found a spot by the lake, where she had told him about the party Trent had taken her.

"Do you like it here, Barricade?" Mikaela asked.

Barricade did not understand the question entirely. "Well, the scene is rather peaceful and the water seems clear enough for you to bathe in, although the microorganisms and protozoa possibly flourishing in it makes me question why humans - "

"No, I mean, here," Mikaela interrupted, "With me."

Barricade was silent for the longest time. "Yes," he finally answered.

"Will you stay here this time?" Mikaela asked, hopefully. She leaned back and rubbed the seats, making the Cruiser beneath her rumble softly. "Promise me you won't leave."

"Hm. Very well, Mikaela." Barricade said, softly, "I promise."

Mikaela seemed relieved and leaned forward against his dashboard. She stroked and petted him. "Thank you, Barricade." she murmured, against the dash. "Thank you." She gasped and felt something, looking up.

Barricade had deployed his human holoform and had his hand on her back. Mikalea sat up and met those reddish, almost-human eyes. She gently touched the holoform's hand, interlocking their fingers. Mikaela knew her young, perfect skin would eventually grow old, fill with wrinkles and leave Barricade with more heartache once she died. But for now, she had to embrace what she had.

Barricade seemed to sense what she was thinking about and leaned forward, connecting his human mouth with her own. "Don't think about it." he said, against her lips.

Mikaela relaxed and accepted that mouth against hers, catching the back of his head with her hand.

While the pair were together at the lakeside, Pudge and Stucky watched them from a tree. Pudge smirked.

"Well, my dangerous bro, tomorrow is another day...and those metal dick weeds that hurt our friends will get their asses kicked." he said, in a dramatic voice. Finally, he resumed a goofy one and grinned and Stucky. "Slurpee?"

Stucky nodded in agreement. "Dude."

Pudge laughed and prepared to scale down the tree. "We're outta here!"

The two boys tried to climb down and ended up falling onto the ground, flat on their faces. Mikaela and Barricade glanced back, Mikaela laughing at their antics. The two boys flashed a thumbs up. Barricade just watched Mikaela's laughing expression.

_Lord Megatron is gone, as is the Decepticon army._

_Starscream continues to try and destroy me for my apparent betrayal. However, I feel as if I did not betray the Decepticons. I remain loyal to my heritage and my destiny as a Decepticon, not to Starscream. And I have the human who I know will remain at my side until the end._

**THE END**

O**  
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_Note_-Well, I ended the fic here. I know this may deterr some of those who like it. I apologize. But I felt there was no need to keep going on with it. I felt it was perfect to end here, partially because it seemed to make sense. I will rewrite it eventually, so tell me if there's something I could have done.


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